I Must Be Pro-Life, Right?
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:3-7, ESV
Once again the hot topic button of abortion has been pushed on social media and everywhere I look, people are in a frenzy to post, repost, blog all forms of emotional responses. They're angry, disgusted, defensive, and upset.
And I understand, friends, I really do.
I try not to venture into current event discussions like these, not because I don't have an opinion, but because I try to keep my emotionally high conversations contained to face-to-face encounters, where I can understand what kind of tone you're putting behind your words, not just what I assume you meant when you responded to my post or posted something of your own.
But...this time I'm venturing out there. I'm taking a step out into hostile water because this topic of this post came to me a long time ago and I have been hammered with it again and again thanks to recent events.
As a child of a 15-year-old birth mother who placed her baby up for adoption, I am pro-life. As a parent of a child who became a father three days after his 16th birthday, I am pro-life. As a child of the Creator of the Universe, the one who forms each and every life conceived, I realize the value in what He has chosen to bring into being and I share that same value of life by saying I'm pro-life.
However, I was frozen in my steps a few years ago when I was reading a book that posed the question: Are you pro-life OR are you pro-birth?
There is a difference, and I think for all the stands we're taking online and for the world to see, we should probably make sure we are what we say we are. You see, when I look at the parable of the lost sheep, I realize I've always stopped at the end when it says the sinner repented and there was great rejoicing. Hooray! But, if I think on the matter, I see the shepherd returned home with his lost sheep. Do you think that he just placed it in the grass, clapped himself on the back and said, 'Nice Job!' then left the sheep on its own? No, when it comes to shepherding, the shepherd devotes time, attention and care to his sheep. Bringing back the one to the rest of the flock was just the beginning.
So, if I decided to apply this same principle to someone standing outside of the abortion clinic trying to determine whether they should go in, I might say:
I will try and understand things from your perspective - As an uninformed person on the outside looking in, I'm not really sure what her life looked like before today. I don't know what type of support system she has or whether anyone sat down and discussed with her what happens when she decide to have sex outside of marriage. I know that before she took that pregnancy test, her world looked one way and after she saw those two lines everything changed. So, it's not surprising that she could be scared, terrified, unsure of what her options are, afraid of the future, desperate for a solution in a world that hasn't been very helpful in the past, or scarred and hurt by the events that brought her to that place.
I will admit that I too have sinned in the past - Yes, reader, you have. Everyone has. Romans 3:23 says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," and as much as I would love to walk around with a shirt that said 0 sins committed since the day I was saved, I can't. I still mess up. Do you know why they call it temptation? Because sin is tempting, it lures you in, makes you think you can do the thing without consequences, it lies and deceives. Maybe when you made your bad choice, it didn't come with the type of consequences that everyone can see, but it doesn't mean you aren't in the same boat as that girl. Sin is sin.
I will understand that you will need support and I will do my part to provide that - Now, this is a tough one, it requires something of you and a lot of the time, we don't want to stop and get involved. We would like to tell that girl to choose life, but once she does, it's good luck, see ya later! I know this sounds harsh, but hey, I've raised 3 kids. Parenting is hard. I have needed the "stuff" that babies and kids require throughout the years, but I've also needed mentors who have been a mom and can teach me, I've needed other moms who tell me it's okay when I want to sit in a heap on the floor and cry, I've needed scripture to guide me in leading these little people towards Christ and who God has made them to be.
Did you think I could do it one my own? NO! And neither can the girl at the clinic. She needs people to pour into her life when she decides to turn away from that door. She'll need diapers and onesies and car seats and a host of other things that you would hand down to the person sitting in your Sunday School class. She'll need baby sitters that will say, hey, here's 5 dollars, go get a snack at McDonald's and read a book or just enjoy some alone time. Choosing life is not a prison sentence for her to try and earn her way back into the good side of the column, and until she's done her time, and we should be willing to treat her like we would a sister or a daughter or a friend in need.
If she decides to place her child for adoption, know that she might hear from the people around her that she doesn't love her baby enough to keep it. Can you imagine? How would that make you feel? How much do you think it would break you down? So, encourage, encourage, encourage her to keep going. And know that when delivery day comes, when she has made her decision and signed the papers, she might need someone to cry to. To break down and sob her eyes out to when her milk is coming in, but there's no baby to feed. She's going to need some special loving care.
Look her in the eyes when she comes into your church and give her a genuine, yes genuine, smile. You may need to practice this. When that 16 year old waddles into your pew with swollen ankles and an 8-month-along tummy on a Sunday morning, we should celebrate that she was brave enough, strong enough, courageous enough to be there. Because the world each and every day is full of people who inflict shame with their facial expressions and their eyes. Sometimes the one place that is supposed to be the source of healing and redemption can be one of the most uncomfortable places you can be. So, let's do what we can to show her a little love and rejoice that the lost sheep has been found.
I won't give up, even if you walk through those doors. Brokenness is rampant in today's world. Abortion is tragic and ugly and I will continue to weep over every life ended this way. But the girl that walked in that clinic was created just like I was. God knit her in her mother's womb, and I believe that He made her for a reason. So, even if she makes the choice to have an abortion, even as much as I'd like to give in to being angry and point the finger, I'll try and remember that she can't take back the decision she just made. Tonight, tomorrow, next year, five years from now, the impact of that might knock her down and tear her apart. But I know someone who heals and restores and if I sit in the seat of condemnation, I can't begin to share what He sacrificed so our sins might be forgiven. She'd never listen to my words.
So, am I pro-life? I think I am. I'd like to think that my life experiences and the love God has shown me when I strayed away from Him has allowed me to look at things in a different perspective. To stop and see that there's so much more here than just a one moment in time "choice," that being pro-life is bigger than carrying a picket sign or putting a bumper sticker on my van. It may not always be comfortable, it may involve time and attention from me, but I'm willing to stand with the Shepherd and care for His lost sheep.
Once again the hot topic button of abortion has been pushed on social media and everywhere I look, people are in a frenzy to post, repost, blog all forms of emotional responses. They're angry, disgusted, defensive, and upset.
And I understand, friends, I really do.
I try not to venture into current event discussions like these, not because I don't have an opinion, but because I try to keep my emotionally high conversations contained to face-to-face encounters, where I can understand what kind of tone you're putting behind your words, not just what I assume you meant when you responded to my post or posted something of your own.
But...this time I'm venturing out there. I'm taking a step out into hostile water because this topic of this post came to me a long time ago and I have been hammered with it again and again thanks to recent events.
As a child of a 15-year-old birth mother who placed her baby up for adoption, I am pro-life. As a parent of a child who became a father three days after his 16th birthday, I am pro-life. As a child of the Creator of the Universe, the one who forms each and every life conceived, I realize the value in what He has chosen to bring into being and I share that same value of life by saying I'm pro-life.
However, I was frozen in my steps a few years ago when I was reading a book that posed the question: Are you pro-life OR are you pro-birth?
There is a difference, and I think for all the stands we're taking online and for the world to see, we should probably make sure we are what we say we are. You see, when I look at the parable of the lost sheep, I realize I've always stopped at the end when it says the sinner repented and there was great rejoicing. Hooray! But, if I think on the matter, I see the shepherd returned home with his lost sheep. Do you think that he just placed it in the grass, clapped himself on the back and said, 'Nice Job!' then left the sheep on its own? No, when it comes to shepherding, the shepherd devotes time, attention and care to his sheep. Bringing back the one to the rest of the flock was just the beginning.
So, if I decided to apply this same principle to someone standing outside of the abortion clinic trying to determine whether they should go in, I might say:
I will try and understand things from your perspective - As an uninformed person on the outside looking in, I'm not really sure what her life looked like before today. I don't know what type of support system she has or whether anyone sat down and discussed with her what happens when she decide to have sex outside of marriage. I know that before she took that pregnancy test, her world looked one way and after she saw those two lines everything changed. So, it's not surprising that she could be scared, terrified, unsure of what her options are, afraid of the future, desperate for a solution in a world that hasn't been very helpful in the past, or scarred and hurt by the events that brought her to that place.
I will admit that I too have sinned in the past - Yes, reader, you have. Everyone has. Romans 3:23 says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," and as much as I would love to walk around with a shirt that said 0 sins committed since the day I was saved, I can't. I still mess up. Do you know why they call it temptation? Because sin is tempting, it lures you in, makes you think you can do the thing without consequences, it lies and deceives. Maybe when you made your bad choice, it didn't come with the type of consequences that everyone can see, but it doesn't mean you aren't in the same boat as that girl. Sin is sin.
I will understand that you will need support and I will do my part to provide that - Now, this is a tough one, it requires something of you and a lot of the time, we don't want to stop and get involved. We would like to tell that girl to choose life, but once she does, it's good luck, see ya later! I know this sounds harsh, but hey, I've raised 3 kids. Parenting is hard. I have needed the "stuff" that babies and kids require throughout the years, but I've also needed mentors who have been a mom and can teach me, I've needed other moms who tell me it's okay when I want to sit in a heap on the floor and cry, I've needed scripture to guide me in leading these little people towards Christ and who God has made them to be.
Did you think I could do it one my own? NO! And neither can the girl at the clinic. She needs people to pour into her life when she decides to turn away from that door. She'll need diapers and onesies and car seats and a host of other things that you would hand down to the person sitting in your Sunday School class. She'll need baby sitters that will say, hey, here's 5 dollars, go get a snack at McDonald's and read a book or just enjoy some alone time. Choosing life is not a prison sentence for her to try and earn her way back into the good side of the column, and until she's done her time, and we should be willing to treat her like we would a sister or a daughter or a friend in need.
If she decides to place her child for adoption, know that she might hear from the people around her that she doesn't love her baby enough to keep it. Can you imagine? How would that make you feel? How much do you think it would break you down? So, encourage, encourage, encourage her to keep going. And know that when delivery day comes, when she has made her decision and signed the papers, she might need someone to cry to. To break down and sob her eyes out to when her milk is coming in, but there's no baby to feed. She's going to need some special loving care.
Look her in the eyes when she comes into your church and give her a genuine, yes genuine, smile. You may need to practice this. When that 16 year old waddles into your pew with swollen ankles and an 8-month-along tummy on a Sunday morning, we should celebrate that she was brave enough, strong enough, courageous enough to be there. Because the world each and every day is full of people who inflict shame with their facial expressions and their eyes. Sometimes the one place that is supposed to be the source of healing and redemption can be one of the most uncomfortable places you can be. So, let's do what we can to show her a little love and rejoice that the lost sheep has been found.
I won't give up, even if you walk through those doors. Brokenness is rampant in today's world. Abortion is tragic and ugly and I will continue to weep over every life ended this way. But the girl that walked in that clinic was created just like I was. God knit her in her mother's womb, and I believe that He made her for a reason. So, even if she makes the choice to have an abortion, even as much as I'd like to give in to being angry and point the finger, I'll try and remember that she can't take back the decision she just made. Tonight, tomorrow, next year, five years from now, the impact of that might knock her down and tear her apart. But I know someone who heals and restores and if I sit in the seat of condemnation, I can't begin to share what He sacrificed so our sins might be forgiven. She'd never listen to my words.
So, am I pro-life? I think I am. I'd like to think that my life experiences and the love God has shown me when I strayed away from Him has allowed me to look at things in a different perspective. To stop and see that there's so much more here than just a one moment in time "choice," that being pro-life is bigger than carrying a picket sign or putting a bumper sticker on my van. It may not always be comfortable, it may involve time and attention from me, but I'm willing to stand with the Shepherd and care for His lost sheep.
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