Dr. George Tiller
by Ray Geide

        Of all the doctors that I have gone to, I will never forget one doctor in grade school that told me, "Ray, I am going to put this quarter up here above this picture and when you come back, if your iron level is back to normal, you can have the quarter." I never returned to him because he left his family practice, but that one visit made a lasting impression on me. During my life I often thought about that event (wondering how many quarters he must have stashed in his office) not knowing who the doctor was. Decades later my mother told me that the doctor's name was George Tiller.
        As I drove home from church on Sunday, May 31, I was saddened to hear that someone had fatally shot Dr. George Tiller. How could anyone do that? Whether you liked him or not, Dr. George Tiller was an individual of great value.
        In fact, every human being is of great value. God created human beings in that way. Of every thing He created on the earth, only humans were made in the image of God, in other words, as prototypes of God (Gen. 1:26,27; James 3:9). God made us with greatness and value (Psalm 8:5). We are wonderfully made (Psalms 139.14).
        When you look at the human race, this is what you see. You do not see humans as just one step above, below, or on the same level as animals. Humans are way above all other beings.
        What animal, plant, or geological structure can talk like humans can? Not only can we talk, but we can also relate specific and intimate details and even talk in different languages.
        What animal can think as intensely as humans? Do you see any animals inventing radios, airplanes, solar cells, computers, wireless phones, or anything even remotely close to them?
        God has put humans on a much higher level than any other physical being. Because of this we should value every person with that same value that God has given to every human. Every person should be treated with respect, dignity, and kindness. We should marvel at the way God has made those close to us and love them. Every life, no matter who it is or what it is, is important. When it comes to what we value, each person should be placed on a pedestal.
        The person who shot Dr. George Tiller did not value life. No matter what he may claim, he was not pro-life. The pro-life movement never called for or wanted the death of Dr. George Tiller because he was a life, a human being made as a prototype of God.
        Of course, anyone being fair in the telling of Dr. George Tiller's life must also mention that the violent event that ended George Tiller's life happened many times every day in his clinic, just in a quieter, calmer, cleaner atmosphere. Valuable human lives were ended as if they were nothing.
        We must never lose sight of the value and importance of a human life.