The year was 1848. Jasper and his wife Ebba worked hard for their little farm home. Jasper and his wife didn’t come from much money, but they worked hard to get where they were. They had two small children – Hugh, their 9-year-old son, and Mabel their 7-year-old daughter. Things were going well for them and they were enjoying the season they were in. Little did they know their lives were about to take a dramatic turn.
Jasper who faithfully read the newspaper every time he went into town; stopped instantly when he saw an article on the front page which read:
“GOLD DISCOVERED IN CALIFORNIA.”
Jasper picked up the article with haste. His heart raced a little thinking of what this could mean for his family. He’d heard rumors, but he hadn’t seen anything to back it up, until now.
Jasper began contemplating the idea of heading out to California, but as soon as he did, he questioned himself. How would Ebba handle the idea? No, he decided to not think about it anymore. It was too risky.
Until after December 1848, when President James K. Polk announced the positive results of a report made by Colonel Richard Mason, California’s military governor, in his inaugural address. Polk wrote, “The accounts of abundance of gold are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by the authentic reports of officers in the public service.” (Full article here)
Jasper knew this was risky, but he also was aware of what it could mean for his family. January 1849 rolled around, and Jasper took the plunge and told Ebba his idea of moving to California in search of gold. Initially, she was upset, but after thinking about it, she gave him her blessing.
With Ebba’s blessing, Jasper borrowed money, mortgaged his house, and spent his life savings to make the arduous trek to California. Jasper became one of the nearly 100,000 men who flocked to California in search of gold. Those men would become known as the 49ers.
Discovering treasure often comes with incredible risk. It takes time, money, and sacrifice.
Life is a treasure. Fighting for life is not without its sacrifices. Wolfgang Tillmans once said, “If one thing matters, everything matters.” To put this into our context, I want to restructure that. “If one unborn child matters, every unborn child matters.” The reverse of this statement is also true, and it is where our country is hanging in the balance. “If one unborn child doesn’t matter, every unborn child doesn’t matter.” If we give up on one child, we have started down a slippery slope.
The life of the unborn is not an isolated issue. People may want to categorize it, but you can’t. Our message is life matters. If you don’t believe that you will see exactly what we are seeing in our country today: rampage shootings, people run over by vehicles, suicide rates skyrocketing (even within the church), and assisted suicide legalized in 7 states.
If we fall prey to thinking one life doesn’t matter, we will eventually think that no life matters. I write this with great trepidation because I know this is something we all need to take seriously. ALL life is made in the image of God, so the fact of the matter is EVERY life matters.
To reiterate my point, I want to share Kevan’s story with you because he is someone who fights for life. Kevan knows that life should be respected, protected and fought for… He has discovered firsthand that life indeed is a treasure.
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