Just a few days ago, I celebrated another birthday. It’s hard to believe how quickly life passes. I’m just grateful that I get to experience life. For many unborn babies, that opportunity is snuffed out before it barely starts. In fact, since 1973 when Roe v. Wade became law, there have been 63 million abortions. What is truly personal to me is that I was born in October of 1973. If you do the math, I was conceived in roughly January. Roe v. Wade became law on January 22, 1973. What if my mother had decided that she didn’t want a baby? It’s a sobering thought.
The conversation about abortion is NOT a political issue; it is a moral issue. To better understand this, we must realize God’s order. There are three institutions that God has established from the beginning of time according to orthodox (or traditional) Christianity: family, government, and the church. Before God established human government, he created the family. He did so with purpose and intention before you were even born. Consider God’s purpose for your life as described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God is calling every one of his disciples to make an impact for the Kingdom of God. Let’s go back before the beginning of the church. Notice what King David had to say about God’s predetermined path for his life in Psalm 139:13-16: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
God values life...all life! From infants in their mother’s wombs to elderly people breathing their last breaths, God values life! How could we do any less than what God does? Sometimes it’s easy to see what will benefit us as the driving force in our lives. Sometimes we don’t even realize it either. In my research, what I found is that 96% of abortions are out of convenience, not crisis. Only 0.3% were a result of risk to the mother’s body. Only 0.03% required an ambulance to the emergency department. Just so you know, these statistics come from secular (not spiritual) organizations such as the California Medicaid Program. I understand that the law can be complex. I also understand that there will always be “exceptions” to the rule. For instance, I will always choose the life of my wife over anyone or anything else. When my kids were born, if the doctors would have told me that Tami would die if she gave birth, I would have chosen her life over the lives of my kids. To be honest, to this day they would expect nothing less, as I have always prioritized my marriage over my children. Do I desperately love my kids? Absolutely, but my “one-flesh union” with Tami comes first, as it should.
I also want to encourage you with the reality that we serve a loving and gracious God! Whatever you have done in the past, is in the past. If you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it is under his powerful blood. In other words, you are forgiven, so live in grace and not guilt. This devotional is not meant to shame anyone, as we all have past issues and choices that we wish we could go back to and change. This devotional is meant to shock us into prioritizing what God prioritizes no matter how emotional the topic can be.
So, what should you do? YOU SHOULD SUPPORT LIFE! You should support the platform, person, pastor, influencer, etc. who supports life! Ultimately, your vote is your choice. I would never tell you to vote for a certain candidate, as that is between you and the Holy Spirit. All I’m going to do is encourage you to pray about it and honor God. Remember, we are actually citizens of heaven, therefore, our decisions on earth should reflect the values of heaven.
The conversation about abortion is NOT a political issue; it is a moral issue. To better understand this, we must realize God’s order. There are three institutions that God has established from the beginning of time according to orthodox (or traditional) Christianity: family, government, and the church. Before God established human government, he created the family. He did so with purpose and intention before you were even born. Consider God’s purpose for your life as described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God is calling every one of his disciples to make an impact for the Kingdom of God. Let’s go back before the beginning of the church. Notice what King David had to say about God’s predetermined path for his life in Psalm 139:13-16: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
God values life...all life! From infants in their mother’s wombs to elderly people breathing their last breaths, God values life! How could we do any less than what God does? Sometimes it’s easy to see what will benefit us as the driving force in our lives. Sometimes we don’t even realize it either. In my research, what I found is that 96% of abortions are out of convenience, not crisis. Only 0.3% were a result of risk to the mother’s body. Only 0.03% required an ambulance to the emergency department. Just so you know, these statistics come from secular (not spiritual) organizations such as the California Medicaid Program. I understand that the law can be complex. I also understand that there will always be “exceptions” to the rule. For instance, I will always choose the life of my wife over anyone or anything else. When my kids were born, if the doctors would have told me that Tami would die if she gave birth, I would have chosen her life over the lives of my kids. To be honest, to this day they would expect nothing less, as I have always prioritized my marriage over my children. Do I desperately love my kids? Absolutely, but my “one-flesh union” with Tami comes first, as it should.
I also want to encourage you with the reality that we serve a loving and gracious God! Whatever you have done in the past, is in the past. If you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it is under his powerful blood. In other words, you are forgiven, so live in grace and not guilt. This devotional is not meant to shame anyone, as we all have past issues and choices that we wish we could go back to and change. This devotional is meant to shock us into prioritizing what God prioritizes no matter how emotional the topic can be.
So, what should you do? YOU SHOULD SUPPORT LIFE! You should support the platform, person, pastor, influencer, etc. who supports life! Ultimately, your vote is your choice. I would never tell you to vote for a certain candidate, as that is between you and the Holy Spirit. All I’m going to do is encourage you to pray about it and honor God. Remember, we are actually citizens of heaven, therefore, our decisions on earth should reflect the values of heaven.
Posted in Devotional