Christians use the Christmas holiday to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. This event (apart from everything else it entails) provides a number of insights about human life and dignity.
1. Each of us was once an unborn child. The Incarnation—the coming into the world of Christ—did not happen in the manger. It happened some nine months earlier. This is what the facts of human embryology and developmental biology tell us, and it is what the scriptural accounts affirm.
Mary is said to be “with child” (Matthew 1:18) upon Jesus being “conceived … from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Earlier, Mary is told she will “conceive in [her] womb … a son, [to be named] Jesus” (Luke 1:31), who even before birth is called a “child … [who] will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Luke 1:41-44 recounts that the unborn John the Baptist (who was probably in his sixth month) “leaped for joy” in his mother’s womb when he entered the presence of the unborn Jesus (who was probably a very young embryo at the time).
Jesus began his earthly existence as an embryo and fetus. So did all of us.
2. The weak and vulnerable matter just as much as the strong and independent. God chose to enter the world in the most vulnerable condition possible: as an embryo, and then a fetus, and then a newborn baby lying in a manger. This is startling, and it turns ancient “might makes right” morality on its head. It suggests that human dignity is not determined by age, size, power or independence.
3. Motherhood is enormously honorable. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was utterly important, admirable and deserving of great honor. All mothers are important and deserving of honor.
4. Human life is extraordinarily valuable. Christmas is part of God’s larger plan to rescue humanity because He loves us (John 3:16). Jesus was born so that we might live. From this Christian perspective, God considers human life to be immensely precious, and worth saving at tremendous cost. “Christian belief in the Incarnation is thus inseparable from belief in the objective, and even transcendent, value of the human race as a whole, and of each human person as an individual,” writes Carson Holloway.
Christmas proves that human beings matter. All of them, at all stages of their lives—including the youngest and most vulnerable.
Editor’s note. Paul Stark is a Communications Associate for Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, NRLC’s state affiliate.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
