Recently I attended a banquet in support of the Life Centers of Ventura County where the keynote speaker was Fr. Dave Hanes from St. Paschal's Baylon Church in Thousand Oaks. He described a mindset that really resonated with me.

When he was a young pastor, he pictured various ministries and theological positions like books on a shelf. For example, he was pro-life and so imagined a book on pro-life ministry as one book on his shelf. He also had books on helping the homeless, evangelism, how to have a great marriage, how Christians should be good stewards of the planet, etc. Books addressing every need and social evil of the day had its place on his shelf.

He would then try to arrange these books in order of importance. Was the pro-life issue the #1 spot or was it sex trafficking in Malaysia? Each book seemed to be jockeying for that coveted #1 slot. And then, when a missionary came to town to discuss the great needs around the world - well, his book just took precedence.

One day, as Dave was trying to manage all the books on his shelf, he realized something; the sanctity of human life was not just a book on the shelf or even the #1 book on the shelf. It WAS the shelf!

Our view is that every life is sacred, no matter what his/her condition or degree of dependence might be, simply because we are all created in the image of God. And if we are all created in the image of God, we all have intrinsic value and are worthy of protection and the fundamental right to life.

In other words, the right to life and the protection of the weak and innocent is the foundation upon which our society rests. If we don't value human life, then why do we help the homeless or reach out to the orphan and widow? Why bother being good stewards of planet Earth if the people we leave it to don't matter?

So the Sanctity of Human Life cause and pro-life ministries like the CPC is not just another book on the shelf or one of many worthwhile ministries to support. It is THE most important issue of the day and not an exaggeration when I say; it is a life and death struggle we must win!