I think it was Mark Twain who once quipped that “the more he got to know humans, the more he liked his dog.”  Most of our frustrations in life probably come from humans.  Washing machines can be frustrating but they can be replaced.  You can’t go to the store and pick up a new human to replace the one that is causing you problems.  Conversely, most of our greatest joys in life have also probably come from humans.  Relationship, laughter, joy, a shared meal, an adventure that ended well, a joke told…all these things are sourced in humanity.  In spite of that, there are those who would go further than Mark Twain and actually suggest that all the great problems of the earth are the result of humans and that the earth would be better off without us!  This tension was well expressed by Blaise Pascal when he wrote, “Humans are the glory and the shame of the universe.”  True enough.  But, God loves us.  He made us in His image to be partakers of His Divine nature.  Our value to Him is far greater than we know.  The cross reminds us of the extent of His love and the Word reminds us again and again why His love is so strong.  If we depart from or suppress the love of God for humans, we will descend into a pit of evil that has many manifestations.  Abortion is only one symptom of a failure to embrace the value God has placed upon human beings, there are many more.  This coming Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, I hope you’ll join us for a reminder of what it means to be “Pro-life” and pro-human.