“L’chaim!” – “To life!” – is a Hebrew celebratory toast. Anybody remember Tevye and Lazar in “Fiddler on the Roof”? Much richer than our English “Cheers!” or the Spanish “Salud!” is this popular and warm-hearted sentiment shared among family and friends within the Jewish community. It’s a simple but profound blessing by which people speak glad tidings of life to each other, for each other, and over each other. “To life!”
This toast to life makes perfect sense, as the gift of life permeates Hebraic culture and tradition. In fact, the sanctity of human life permeates the Word of God. So “L’chaim!” is an expression of mutual thanksgiving. It’s a verbal acknowledgment that God has been good to us by giving us each other – by allowing our lives to intersect. It’s an expression of appreciation for the blessing that is ours to spend some time together in this life. It’s a collective “thank you” to God for something as simple as the shared meal which gives us the chance to raise a glass with our friends.
“L’chaim!” should serve as a reminder to all of us that God values life. From the moment that our Creator breathed life into Adam until that moment at the great Marriage Feast when Christ will speak “L’chaim!” over His bride, life matters. We who are the Church – Christ’s bride, whom He will celebrate at the joyful supper I just mentioned – must revere life as a sacred gift to be celebrated, honored, and protected.
The premise of the sanctity of human life is as old as time itself. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth …” (Genesis 1:27-28).
But, in many corners, life is anything but celebrated, and here’s the hard and awful reality. Abortion in America is a dirty, dangerous, and deadly business. Its origins are undeniably steeped in the ugliest forms of racism and hatred. (If you have not done so, please research Margaret Sanger.) Since 1973, over 60 million lives have been lost to this pagan sacrament. In 2021-22, Planned Parenthood performed 392,715 abortions, an increase of 20% over the previous ten reports. In its 2022-23 report, Planned Parenthood listed nearly $2.1 billion in income and over $2.5 billion in net assets. Taxpayer funding in the form of government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements hit $699.3 million. Friends, that translates to almost $2 million per day. Sadly, the organization’s taxpayer funding has increased by 43% since 2010.
But what’s most concerning to me is the absolute fever pitch with which many people seem to desire to enshrine abortion rights permanently into the cultural and legal framework of our already-broken society. With a passion akin to unchecked spiritual fervor, pro-abortion warriors seem willing to participate in and encourage a moral atrocity to which every other genocide in history pales in comparison. By way of example, in New York City, 60% of all African American pregnancies now end in abortion. 60%.
I’m reading and hearing lots of political rhetoric about the rights of women to control their own bodies. Believe me, if this issue were simply a matter of personal autonomy or freedom for women, I’d be staunchly on the “pro-choice” side. But let me ask you a simple question: How many noses does a woman have? One. How many noses does a pregnant woman have? One. When there’s a pregnancy, the woman’s body is not the only body to be considered. There’s a baby’s body that’s been created in God’s image. The developing fetus (that’s Latin for “little one”) has its own complex circulatory system. The baby has its own arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Wondrously, it has its own complete set of human DNA that is unique, and different from the mother’s. The growing baby is clearly not just “part of the woman’s body.” Laws against abortion are designed to protect the baby’s body, and we can’t lose sight of that.
I am not ashamed to tell you that the pro-life position is the most pro-woman position on the planet because it’s the most pro-human. It speaks up for the smallest, the most vulnerable, the most defenseless, and the most voiceless on Planet Earth. It speaks against a tragic violation of fundamental human and civil rights. And, primarily, it recognizes basic and intrinsic human dignity and worth. It acknowledges that the silent unborn are created in God’s own image, and it allows those precious image-bearers to live. “To life!”
Surely, we who follow the Lord Jesus Christ can do our part in the public square to articulate – with humble grace – that every life matters. We know that it won’t be easy, but that’s a small price to pay in light of how God has celebrated, honored, and protected us. Who knows? Maybe the Lord will use our conviction and courage to usher in a season of life-giving revival and renewal in our land and in our day.
“L’chaim” is an intentional celebration of life’s beauty, vitality, and resilience. The spirit of the blessing commemorates not just a past that has been difficult, and often laden with trials and tears, but a faithful and undeniable perseverance that has won the day in the end. In my humble opinion, this sounds great for America right now! Let’s lead the way, Beloved of Christ, in humble gratitude to our God – and the God of Abraham – for life’s manifold blessings. And let’s covenant together not to waste the gift of life, but to make every moment count.
Because of a special plural ending in the Hebrew language, “chaim” means two lives. Literally, it refers to a pair of lives. So we should understand that the powerful blessing of “L’chaim!” encompasses not just this life, but the next life as well. Life is forever. What I’m saying is that how we uphold the sanctity of life, right now, matters for eternity. My prayer is that we will reject the heartless and self-absorbed spirit of this age for what it is, and that our hearts and lives will reflect – counterculturally and deliberately – the character of the selfless Jesus over whose impending birth the unborn John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb.
“To life!”
Pastor Charles
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