Christ is the reason we live

By Msgr. John Wynand Katende

At Christmas we appreciate two gifts: human life and planet earth, upon which we live. Jesus, God incarnate, was born to sanctify our human existence.

The doctrine of Reincarnation (entering the flesh again) states that an aspect of every human being continues to exist after death. This aspect may be the soul or mind or consciousness or something transcendent which is reborn in an interconnected cycle of existence and is envisioned to be in the form of a newly born human being, or animal, or plant, or spirit, or as a being in some other non-human realm of existence.

Evolutionists or Darwinists, after Charles Darwin (1809–1882), believe that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual’s ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. This is a very temporal view lens on human life.

Christians believe that God created human beings in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). When the apostle Paul was invited to speak before the philosophers of Athens, he confidently affirmed that it is the true God who “gives to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). During this mortal experience, our responsibilities and opportunities are two-fold. We have a stewardship to preserve the sacredness of the earth as well as the sacredness of our mortal bodies.

The means by which mortal life is procreated must also be upheld as sacred. “Outside the bonds of marriage, all uses of the procreative power are to one degree or another a sinful degrading perversion of the most divine attribute of men and women.” (“The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 74). As we live the law of chastity and are morally clean, the Spirit of God can have a greater influence upon us during our mortal lives.

Belief in the sacredness of life implies that no person has the right to arbitrarily take the life of another person. A woman has no liberty to destroy her pre-born child or be assisted to do so. The unborn enjoy the dignity of a human person and the right to life from womb to tomb. They have been endowed with a soul and a call (Genesis 1:28). Parents, as ministers of life, on Gods’ behalf, must give the spiritual dimension of procreation greater consideration than any other aspect. Euthanasia, the intention of the will to kill (“mercy killing,”) using medicine, is homicide.

Humans must treasure the gift of life and use it to worship the Creator, both in time and in eternity. We should, hence, use our life in preparation to meet our God (Isaiah 4:12). Our ability to be influenced by God is in direct proportion to the care we give to our bodies.

Because of the sacred nature of our bodies, we follow a law of health. It give us direction as to what foods and other substances we should and should not consume. We are encouraged to

live healthy life-styles and eat healthy foods. We are commanded to avoid alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful drugs. We are encouraged to do physical and spiritual exercises for a good and longer life.

At Christmas, God, Immanuel, comes into the life of each and every one of us. If we erase Christ from any part of our life we rob that part of life of its lasting purpose. Ironically, when we rob our life of its purpose we rob our own happiness. When Christ is the reason we have, what we have and do what we do, we find happiness even in things that will not last. May God shower his blessings upon you at Christmas.

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