There’s a part of me that gave thanks for the news about New York’s new “reproductive healthcare” law. I’ve never, ever had so many men and women filling my Facebook feed with their shock, horror, and grief over abortion.
Awareness is heightened, and I’m honestly quite thankful for the way New York has brought this holocaust happening under our noses, right out into the glaring sunlight. It may be God’s mercy to us.
One of the most heartbreaking things to me in their posts, though, is that a great number of the people expressing their horror in my feed over the past several weeks have said they had no idea that there are no abiding restrictions on abortion in nearly a dozen states in the US and all of Canada. (Not that abortion at 8 weeks is less like murder than a 28 or 36-week-old infant. There are just smaller amounts of evidence to show for it.)
Bizarre twists…
On Monday, I sat on my couch and wept as 44 senators voted with the most gut-wrenching transparency to stop consideration of the motion on S.311, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection bill, keeping it from moving forward. This bill would have offered life-saving support to an infant who was “accidentally” born alive after an abortion-gone-wrong.
The clarity with which these men and women cast their votes was astounding. Even from their own party’s perspective, it was mind-boggling, because it wasn’t as though anyone was asking them to roll back “women’s rights” and end abortion right then and there.
Before the vote, as usual, various members of the Senate stood and argued for and against this bill, one of whom was Democratic Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth. In a bizarre twist towards the end of her statement, she said, “When lives are on the line, the folks with MD’s are the ones who should be deciding what care is appropriate, not those with partisan agendas.”
She’s right about one thing: lives are on the line and everyone knows it. But minutes later, she and 43 others voted with full knowledge of the consequences, backing away from the abortion table as it were, and thus the Democratic party became the party of infanticide, all in the name of “women’s rights”.
Just one word…
The strong, influential, and powerful 44 (and more) are preying on the weakest, most vulnerable and silencing their voices with one word:
“No.”
“No, I won’t protect you, even if you live through an attempt to kill you by tearing your arms and legs off.”
“No, I won’t speak up for your right to live, even if you survive an attempt to crush your skull.”
“No, I won’t prevent someone from killing you if you make it out alive.”
“No, I won’t stop a doctor from leaving you to die, cold and naked in your own blood as you gasp for breath.”
“No, I’m not willing to love you, my neighbor, the least of these. I’ll just pass by on the other side.”
“No, I’m not willing to sacrifice my career or my reputation because I have a party platform to uphold.”
“No, I won’t give you a chance at life when you were “meant” to die, because I have a chance to become president.”
Repentance is in order…
Someday, we are going to answer to Jesus for what we did for the least of these. The very least, the tiniest, are under assault in our own backyards. Their blood is crying out. We have to decide as Christians that this ends, and that ending it starts with our own repentance.
We have to repent of our own part in this. We may not feel complicit, but to some extent, we all carry some responsibility.
We have to repent of being shy about the issue, of tiptoeing around, trying to wield pagan words to talk about the destruction of the very image of God.
We need to repent of being too afraid to post about it on Facebook, or being unwilling to speak life by using whatever voice God grants us – whether it’s via social media or the pulpit.
We must repent of soft core porn that lies to women and hard core porn that leads men to cover their sin with murder.
We must repent of embarrassment and placating and allowing our fear of rejection or being unfriended and unfollowed on social media to silence us.
We must repent of listening to, and allowing influence in our lives from men and women who pretend that abortion is a nuanced, complicated issue that should be left alone and disregarded, much like the infants dying by the thousands daily.
We must repent of ignoring the big E on the chart, voting for the people who won’t speak up for the defenseless, who will focus on our pet “social issues”, while we are actively disregarding “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.“
We must repent of brushing off the death of the unborn, while saying, “Yes, you have your pro-life issues and I have mine. My issue is poverty, my issue is the marginalized immigrants, my issue is women in crisis, my issue is…” Jesus made it clear to the Pharisees in Matthew 23: “These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
There are so many facets to this, but unlike liberalized Christianity wants to declare to us, it’s not a “nuanced issue”. It’s actually a simple issue of right vs. wrong, literally a life and death choice.
So yes, please do explore what it means to promote a culture of life. I believe wholeheartedly in promoting adoption, pregnancy care centers, and foster care. I want to see us making all the inroads we can to ensure that when abortion does someday end, we have a structure that will hold together to care for every single person impacted by unplanned pregnancy.
But for God’s sake, and in Jesus’ name, even in the absence of ideal social structures, we must stop the killing. We must stop voting for the people who are literally willing to commit negligent homicide, to turn away from the children being slaughtered, and then lie to themselves and everyone around them in order to keep their power and privilege.
You aren’t powerless…
Make no mistake: Jesus cares about this and He wants your attention on it. His image bearers are being torn apart in the places they should be safest, and if they survive by some miracle, they’re left to die in a dish on the side of the table.
But you’re not powerless. God has given you a voice and many opportunities to use it.
You can fear God, keep His commandments, obey His voice, serve Him, hold fast to Him (Deuteronomy 13:4). Your worship of Him, your love for your spouse and children in deed and truth, your repentance, your forgiveness for others, and your unwavering belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ will stand out in the majority culture. It will speak volumes to those around you about Whose you are and Whom you serve.
You can remember what Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18 ESV) which means that you exercise your voting rights, your speech, your ministry in your home and in the world is all under the authority of Jesus Christ and His Lordship.
The ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:10-21) is given to those of us who have been reconciled to God, and we carry that ministry everywhere in order to continue this mission that Jesus gave us.
You can pray. Jesus said in John 14:13, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” To pray in Jesus’ name means we are standing for what Jesus stands for.
Pray, knowing you’re heard by a Father who listens to the cries of His children. Pray the Psalms on behalf of the oppressed and deceived.
Pray that God will destroy His enemies by turning them into His friends. Pray that those who are actively choosing to be God’s enemies as they murder and deceive will have their hearts of stone removed and will be given a heart of flesh.
You can recall and recount these moments in history, when we failed as a nation to protect the most vulnerable. Keep these moments fresh in your own mind and remind your friends. We live in a time where, in the providence of God, the deeds being done in secret are being brought to the light.
No one can deny the humanity of the unborn, and praise God, not much is hidden in the era of YouTube and Facebook. We have a tremendous opportunity to keep these issues in the light, even at the risk of being silenced or reported by pro-abortion activists, or having our posts hidden by people with hardened consciences.
You can speak God’s words to the oppressors, to the powerful, to those who have fought for abortion, and for those who have gone along with the killing:
“‘…Cease to do evil, learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.'” (Isaiah 1:16-18 ESV)
The gospel for everyone…
Jesus offers cleansing for the vilest offenders, from those of us who have offended with our silence and cowardice to those who have committed the murders or turned away from the cries of the helpless. In God’s justice, Jesus’ blood runs red for the sin that runs red off our hands, and the forgiveness resulting for us is pure white, complete and total cleansing. The gospel is for us all.
This was adapted from a Facebook post I published on January 24th.
L
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