The husband and I were having an interesting discussion on our drive up to Denver. We found a subject both of us are passionate about, but both of us avoid discussing because we are among a minority within our circle of friends and could really anger some people with our thoughts. I've been mulling over this discussion for days now with continued gusto of heart for this issue. Since he is now back home and I am not, I guess this seems like the next logical outlet.
The issue we were discussing was the response of most Christians to abortion. The thing that gets me all riled up is not, surprisingly, abortion itself. Before I'm lynched I should explain. Abortion is an ugly, vile, heartbreaking evil that has been created by fallen humans living in a fallen world. I don't advocate that it is justifiable, even though I have some non-Christian friends who do.
There are two things that I whole-heartedly believe about abortion that may get me lynched anyway. First, I don't think it will ever go away. If by some inexplicable grace it was outlawed tomorrow, I think abortions would continue and in the continuation would become more dangerous for the woman seeking an abortion. Abortions, in some form or another have existed for centuries. During the height of the roman empire when orgies were the norm women knew of a certain herb they could eat that would end unwanted pregnancies. So many women used this herb that it doesn't even exist anymore. No matter what we do to fight the spread of sin on the earth it will persist until Christ returns and final judgment is made. Part of this sin is abortion, and hard as we fight it, there will continue to be unwanted children, and women seeking to avoid these "mistakes."
The second thing I believe about abortion is something that could get me in deep trouble with a lot of people. In this I pray that if I am wrong that the eyes of my heart would be opened and my blindness would be taken away by the truth that only true Grace can bring. I believe that education and love is more important that protest and condemnation. Many Christians think that going to pro-life rallies, or posting blogs about how awful abortion is, or shouting from the pulpit that women seeking abortions are murderers and the doctors who peform abortions are bringing a scourge of infanticide upon our country, or any number of equally condeming comments are not only right but also necessary and biblical. I feel that this attitude is foolish at best, and drasticaly harmful at worst. I think that educating girls about choices other than abortion, rather than condeming them for thinking abortion is a choice, could lead to fewer abortions. I think there are a lot of young women who really feel like there is no other way, and have no idea that there are people out there who would love to help them get through the what could be the toughest decision they may ever make.
What if instead of screaming from the mountaintops at the sinners we see around us, we follow a biblical example (i.e. Jesus) and love the sinners more than anyone else is willing to? What if we start looking at young women who are cosidering abortion as opportunities for love rather than opprtunities to preach? What if Christians were willing to take pregnant women into their homes, provide safe, loving, healthy environments for pregnancies to continue to grow and then help facilitate adoption? What if we were more interested in showing Jesus to a lost soul than worrying about the child that could be harmed as a result of sin being in the world? Maybe children could be saved. Maybe people would know we are Christians by our love, not our screams.
