“Perry was in Fallujah because his nation called him to defend what he believed in. He was convinced that God gave basic rights to people. Where do those rights come from? Is that something the founders just invented or is there a biblical basis for the fact that God gave us life?” Congressman Akin asked, referring to the principles for which his son, Lt. Perry Akin, fought for in Iraq.
“I now ask people to picture this. Adam and Eve are standing in the garden. They’ve been created by God in the image of God. There’s no sin yet. They’re hardwired with all the things that we feel as human beings. Adam is looking out. He sees his gorgeous wife looking at the garden. He’s shaking with anticipation,” Akin describes of the scene.
“What does God say to him? He says, ‘Adam the way you feel is the way I made you. It’s okay. Be fruitful and multiply. Build a bridge. Put the barn and the orchard over there. It’s okay. That’s what I made you to do: to work the soil, to love your wife, and to make children that the earth can be filled,’” Akin continued.
“You see God called Adam to do what was in his heart to do all along. This was more than a creation mandate; it was the gift of freedom. The Bible says it was a blessing,”
Dictionaries define a mandate as command, but blessings are different, something prosperous, glorifying, and honoring.
The Declaration of Independence reflects the blessing of Genesis. “Creator” signals the origin of the blessing when God gave humanity freedom. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
“It was at that point that humans received their freedom under God. That’s why we fight to protect our God-given freedom,” Akin said. “What is the blessing? Isn’t that what we’ve been fighting for? Isn’t that what the terrorists want to undue?”
And indeed, many have fought for the blessing of life over the years and are defending it today. The blessing is God’s gift to us.
God, what a blessing you have given me, the blessing of freedom, the gift of prosperity and hope for the future.
“God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28a)