President Harrison of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is, in my opinion, the most winsome, eloquent and tireless worker and spokesmen for “life” I have ever heard or met. His work on mercy as a corporate activity of the church is a dynamic reiteration of Jesus statement that he came that we might have life, “and have it to the full”. The Gospel of God’s mercy is the declaration that the God who creates is life, the Son who redeems is life, and the Holy Spirt that Sanctifies leads to life and ultimately to life everlasting.
In his book, “A Little Book of Joy” Harrison wrote, “There is—in addition to specific, pervasive, and persuasive texts (Genesis 1:26, 27; 9:6; Exodus 21:22–25)—an ethic of the inherent value of every human life conceived, no matter its form or malformity. Simply put, for Jesus there is no “life unworthy of life.” In fact, the Christ turns the human value system completely on its head (1 Corinthians 1:25, 27), to the great delight and joy of the “least.”
This is an unashamed and unabashed commercial for “A Little Book of Joy”, by Matthew Harrison – Published 2011 by Concordia Publishing House 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis. MO 63118–3968 1–800–325–3040 • www.cph.org Text © 2009 Matthew C. Harrison
From A Little Book on Joy (c) 2009 Matthew C. Harrison. Used with permission of Concordia Publishing House. www.cph.org
