Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sanctity of Life Sunday

Many local churches designated today as "Sanctity of Life Sunday, a time to reflect on the gift of life that God gives, and also a time to renew and refresh our commitment to protect this precious gift.

As I think about the meaning of this day, I am both encouraged and saddened. I am encouraged by the people we have met on our adoption journey who are committed to spreading the good news of adoption and who take a firm stance against the evils of abortion. However, I am saddened by the number of lives that are still being taken each year by abortion. As an adopted child and now as an adoptive parent, it is hard for me to comprehend how abortion could be seen as a viable option. It is hard for me to understand how our country can distinguish between murder and abortion. We all know that if a woman gave birth to a baby, and only seconds after it was out of her womb, the doctor were to intentionally take its life, the doctor would be arrested and charged with murder. Yet, if this same baby, still inside the womb, had its life ended by abortion by that same doctor, it would be perfectly legal, and no charges would be pressed. How? Why? I may not be very intellectual or a "lofty" thinker, but this just does not make sense to me.

Everyday, with every choice we make, we are leaving a legacy for future generations. What message are we sending our children, our teenagers? That life is something that can be disregarded if it isn't convenient? That responsibility doesn't matter anymore, because there is always a way out? That there aren't any consequences? I have had heart wrenching conversations with middle school students (church going, Christian middle school students) about abortion. Heart wrenching because they have been sucked into the ideology that there are no absolutes, that what is right for you is right for you, and what is right for me is right for me. They don't want to "offend" anyone by standing up for their Christian beliefs. Though I am thankful for their "tolerance (to an extent), I am afraid that we have taught tolerance to the point that we are tolerating practices and beliefs that are shameful, displeasing to God, and just plain evil. May we never teach our children to devalue the precious gift of life, a gift that only God can give. The most precious gift of all.

I hope that this post has not seemed insensitive or self-righteous. I, too, have allowed apathy and fear to sometimes keep me from standing firm in the Word of God, in what I know to be truth. I have stood silent in the voice of opposition. But I feel that we can no longer allow our country to make the slow and steady slide into moral decline by devaluing life.

We have all heard the phrase, "it's not a choice, it is a child". Isn't that a simple, yet profound statement? The time for making critical choices comes long before the choice to have an abortion. I know that at times there are difficult and unfair circumstances in this world, but do we not have victory over death and sin through Jesus Christ? He is bigger than anything this world can hand us, if we will only take his yoke upon us.

You and I have the choice each day to stand against evil, and to proclaim the good news of Christ in this dark world. May we be found as faithful servants.

For more on abortion (stats, links) and how you can make a difference, visit Never Silence Life.
A special thank you to my friend and fellow adoptive parent, Tiffany White, for bringing this issue to the forefront this past week.

1 comment:

beBOLDjen said...

Oh wow. Poor guy. I'm glad he's doing well with his treatments though. It woul dbe much harder if he cried the whole time. I pray Caleb recovers quickly!