As followers of Jesus, we believe that all human life is sacred. In particular, we believe that the most vulnerable of all human beings are the preborn—those who literally cannot defend themselves. We also affirm that human life begins at the moment of conception.
One might ask, “On what authority do you make that claim?” That assertion rests on the authority of the Word of God. As Christians, our conscience is bound by the scriptures, the very Word of God. It is on the authority of God’s Word that we plant our flag and declare that all human life is sacred and that all human life begins at the moment of conception.
God’s Relationship with His People
As an Old Testament prophet of God, Jeremiah ordinarily delivered messages to the people. But in chapter eighteen, God instructs him to receive a message, telling the prophet to go down to the potter’s house. In so doing, God introduces Jeremiah to one of the multiple metaphors God uses in scripture to describe his relationship with his people. These include the bridegroom and the bride, the father and his children, the shepherd and the sheep.
Here, in Jeremiah 18, God is likened to a potter, and we are likened to clay. This metaphor describes our relationship with God and helps establish a biblical worldview of life. It also informs our understanding of what it means to champion the sanctity of all human life.
All Life is Designed by the Potter
The first truth revealed in this passage is that all life is designed by the divine potter. In verse 6, God explains that just as the potter shapes the clay, so God has shaped human life. This passage reminds us that there is no such thing as a human accident. Every human being alive today—born and unborn—has been intricately shaped and designed by the chief designer and chief potter, who is God himself. And God makes no mistakes.
No one chooses when they are born, where they are born, or to whom they are born. God, as the chief potter and designer, is the one who sets life into motion. All human life originates with him. Because of this, there is no life that is a mistake and no life that is unwanted by God. As the people of God, part of our calling is to push back against a culture of death and to challenge the pro-abortion industry by declaring that there is no such thing as an unwanted life. All life is designed and created by the potter, and every person bears a miraculous and intentional design.
The Wonder of Intentional Design
The human body itself testifies to this reality. The adult body contains approximately 70 trillion cells. The brain alone has around 100 billion cells. Each human body is made up of 206 bones, over 600 muscles, and approximately 93,000 miles of blood vessels. The intricate complexity of the human body points unmistakably to a designer—to a Creator, to the chief potter. As the scriptures testify, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14).
And this miracle of human life begins in the womb. In his essay, “A Baby Reflects the Glory of God,” Jerry Newcombe lists fascinating aspects of fetal development, detailed by the Mayo Clinic. He writes:
The Clinic says that by the time of . . .
Fertilization . . . the baby’s gender and “traits such as eye and hair color, and, to some extent, personality and intelligence” are set.
Three weeks after conception . . . “your baby is about the size of the tip of a pen.”
Four weeks after conception . . . “your baby’s heart is pumping blood.” Also, four weeks after conception . . .”basic facial features will begin to appear, including passageways that will make up the inner ear and arches that will contribute to the jaw.” Yet at this point, your baby’s no bigger than the size of a pencil eraser.
Five weeks after conception . . . “your baby’s brain and face are rapidly developing.”
Seven weeks after conception . . . the baby’s arms, elbows, toes, and eyelids develop. Yet the baby is only 3⁄4 of an inch long at this stage.
Eight weeks after conception . . . the eyelids begin to close for protection.
Ten weeks after conception . . . fingernails now develop. Yet by this stage, the baby only weighs about 1⁄2 an ounce.
And on it goes, in the miracle preceding birth. And this is only in the first three months.
All Life is Valuable to the Potter
The second truth revealed in this passage is that all life is valuable to the potter. In verse 4, the potter does not discard the clay when it becomes marred. Instead, he reworks it and reshapes it according to what seems best to him. The text says that he molds it “as it seemed good to the potter to do.” This tells us that human life is not created haphazardly. God does not design people randomly or without purpose. He shapes each person intentionally, assigning worth and value to every life.
You are God’s prized possession because you have been created in his image. Scripture teaches that human value is not defined by what we do, but by who we are—image-bearers of God, created by the chief potter. What gives a work of art its value is the signature of the artist. Without that signature, a piece of art holds little worth. Because you are created in the image of God, you bear the signature of the divine artist. This means that every life—inside the womb and outside the womb—is a prized possession of the Creator.
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the upcoming book, Politics & The Kingdom of God by Dr. Rob Pacienza.
