Now that it's attainable, we have "millions" of women protesting that possibility. And while Christians should always be doing our best to live at peace with all (Rom. 12:18), there is still a responsibility to speak out against those "who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness" (Isa. 5:20). Consequently, there is a certain joy that comes with the knowledge that our nation might actually stop the murdering of 3,000 innocent lives a day - an atrocity that far outweighs the Holocaust to the point that it's now beyond measure. Holding to the sanctity of life is precious. First and foremost, it's a Biblical doctrine: all people are created in God's image (Gen. 1:27; Ps. 139:13-16) and should not have their life ended for any unjust reason (Gen. 9:6; Ex. 20:13). Furthermore, it's a practical outworking of truly loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:36-40). Nevertheless, this precious, Biblical, applicable doctrine brings with it, in a fallen world, a type of curse when trying to live it out. First of all, it curses those opposed to it. Now let me say here, I certainly don't believe all women who have had or have considered abortion were doing so on the grounds of deliberately seeking to kill an innocent human life. The outcome, of course, is the unjust killing of an innocent child. But the circumstances surrounding the situation aren't easy to sift through, and they come with a lot of emotions. However, regardless of the circumstances (and terrifying though some of them may be), the ultimate decision to get an abortion is to put one's self (whether financial burdens, educational responsibilities, social interactions, or even health concerns etc.) before the baby who ends up being killed. And don't get me wrong. The Bible is clear that before we come to Christ, even those of us who now are Christians, were, before Christ, in that very same mindset: For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. The apostle goes on to say that it is only because of Christ that we were changed and now have a new heart that desires to do what is right and seek for life (Ti. 3:4-7) Yet, the Bible also says that before someone has been changed by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, His substitutionary death on the cross and His victory over life in the resurrection, people have a natural bent toward evil (Rom. 1:18-32). In a particular instance King Solomon illustrates this evil and its ramifications in the book of Proverbs. And I think it is here that sometimes Christians forget what abortion does to those who have not yet been saved: My son, if sinners entice you, It's important to remember my words above before lambasting what you're about to read: the experiential intent of those who have had abortions is not always to seek themselves over an innocent child; however, that is the foundational and practical outworking of having an abortion. Not only that, Christians would be doing the same kinds of things if it were not for the work of Christ that saved them out of that mindset. But here is the curse of the sanctity of life on which I first started this post. In a fallen world, life is sacred because it's in the image of God; but that image has been marred, it has been cursed. And as we sin, we further distort that image in which we were created. Notice what Solomon says about people who unjustly take away the life of others. They lie in wait "for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives." Murdering innocent life not only kills the victims, but it "takes away the life" of the murderers themselves. We should not be surprised at all to see the coarse and vulgar language, the hate-filled speech and protesting of people who are not saved by Christ and have a fallen mindset (cf. Eph. 4:17-19). Their pursuit of murder has further taken away their very own lives. And so, though life is sacred, it's also cursed. And the curse spreads when evil prospers. Yet the hope of Christ is greater than all of this. Despite what the picture above wishes(1), Christ was not aborted (nor could He have been because He is sovereign over all things). He lived in order to die, not in a womb, but on the cross, as a payment for the sins of all who trust in Him (and everyone who trusts in Him for their righteousness will be saved). And because He rose from the dead, he also raises sinners from the dead (Eph. 2:1-7) and gives them new hearts (Eze. 36:26) and new lives (2 Cor. 5:17). Because of this, we need not despair when we see the media cover the march protesting a potential change in the law of the land that will once again prevent the massacre of innocent children. We can rejoice that that change of law is perhaps at hand. And we can rejoice that once again the March for Life (which the media will barely cover) will take place as well. However, the newness of life in Christ also carries a great responsibility. It doesn't stop with the March for Life and any new legislation. I'm thrilled to know the March for Life and subsequent efforts have been going on all these years. But now that there is a great possibility that abortion will be made illegal again, it doesn't mean pro-life centers will all of a sudden be closed. There is still much work to be done, and this is only the beginning of that work. Churches need to be more proactive about their love for women - especially those women who are at a crisis situation in their lives. The church needs to be more proactive in their love for children and be ready to adopt the many wonderful lives that will need a home. This means more children need to be adopted right now as a way of showing we're actually ready to accept the outcome of outlawing abortion. Some might even see this as a curse to a sanctity of life view too. Overpopulation. The inconvenience of having to take care of so many hungry mouths. Yet this is a great blessing in God's eyes. He created us to multiply and subdue the earth (Gen. 1:28). We are to look out for and take care of the weak, the unloved, and the unwanted - to raise them in a house that worships the Lord (Josh. 24:15). Is this not true religion (Jas. 1:27)? Truly for years we've been saying we ought to speak out for those who have no voice (Prv. 31:8, 9). And thank God for all of those who have done so! But now we need to pray for and ready ourselves for the very possibility of the next step to those actions - taking care of those who had no voice but now do. Will it be difficult? Yes! Will it be burdensome with money, food, clothing, shelter, comfort? Yes! But will it be an amazing blessing obeying the voice of the Lord and seeing His image-bearers alive and glorifying Him because of it? It will far outweigh all burdens and difficulties that the curse has brought us. Man was cursed through the disobedience of Adam; he was redeemed and given hope and security through the obedience of Jesus Christ. Let us pray for His mercy and strength to live in the light of that obedience by providing that same hope to the unborn for which we have cried out these many years. 1) Yes, I'm aware that the above picture did not come from the current "Women's March" but was taken years prior in California, ironically as a protest for a Walk for Life. However, it certainly encapsulates the idea of the Women's March - the ideology that we should decide for ourselves what is right, and not the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course, the poster is true: we wouldn't be in this mess if Jesus had been aborted. If He didn't accomplish the task of redeeming His beloved children, we would be in a much worse mess than this! |
