Saturday, April 20, 2013

A Mother's Response to Abortion

Recently, my eyes have been wet and my heart heavy.   Articles have flooded my computer with abhorrent crimes, graphic images, staggering statics.  Abortion.  My child was born at the same gestational age where many young lives will end.



Are we really in a second, silent, Holocaust?   Whether you're for it or against it, there's no escaping the topic, and it demands a response on so many levels:  intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical.

And emotionally, I join the outrage and the outcry and plead for the end.  Won't someone do something?

As I consider the realities of abortion clinics and abandoned babies and unwanted pregnancies, my lips verbalize a longing for redemption and change, yet my body is immobilized.  Paralyzed.   I am a single person, with little influence, money, or resources to make a real difference.  Could I actually make a difference?  Where would I even begin?

And don't misunderstand me -- there are many things I CAN do.  Too many to list here.  Pursue adoption.  Consider foster care.  Give money.  Plead that God would change hearts.  Teach my kids.  Pray that Jesus would come soon.  Raise awareness.  Love mothers who have walked this horrific road.


But the end issue is not just abortion.  It didn't start with Roe vs. Wade, and it doesn't stop with Kermit Gosnell.

The issue is larger than that -- we are in a chronic war against the enemy, not just for unborn children, but for ALL children.

We've ALWAYS had to fight for every. single. child.  Consider the words of author Russell Moore:

"We ought to be reminded that Jesus is not born into a snowy winter wonderland of sweetly-singing angels and cute reindeer nuzzling one another at the side of his manger.  He is born into a war zone.  And at the very rumor of his coming, Herod -- the Planned Parenthood of his day -- vows to see him dead, right along with thousands of his brothers.  It's always been that way. The Bible tells us so... children are always hurt.  Human history is always riddled with their corpses."

But why is it that children are perpetually caught in the cross-fire of sin and selfishness?  Why are children the ones who always lose the battle of "rights?"  From divorce, to child slavery, to sex-trafficking and child labor, to domestic abuse, abductions, and playground bullying -- children have always represented what the Enemy longs to destroy:  new life.

"The demonic powers hate babies because they hate Jesus.  When  they destory "the least of these," the most vulnerable among us, they're destroying a picture of Jesus himself...they know the human race is saved -- and they are vanquished -- by a woman giving birth... They are also destroying the very pictures of newness of life and of dependant trust that characterizes life in the kingdom of Christ.  Children also mean blessing -- a perfect target for those who seek only to kill and destroy."


For the God who created each child, knit together each baby, not only delights in children, but says we must become like one of them to enter His Kingdom.  He prizes children.  And because of this, one of the main battle grounds against the enemy will always be with children.

And if this is true, then perhaps there's something even more close-to-home, more obvious, and just as critical that I tend to overlook.

I can love MY children.








I can daily battle for their bodies, their minds, their hearts, their souls.  I can pour myself into care for them, and love them regardless of the cost, the inconvenience.  I can kiss their ouchies, clean their bottoms, fill their bellies.  I can teach them, pray for them, remind them everyday that they are cherished.  I can show up at her "dance recital" in the basement, and stop laundry for just long enough to make a Play-Doh cake.   I can put my to-do list on hold for just a moment to pick him up and hold him close to my chest.  I can plan excursions, educate their minds, surprise them with gifts, read them one more story.

I can love the children I have, with all that I have, because the battle is for ALL of our children.


Perhaps this is not enough.  Perhaps I should be investing more in the large-scale battle against the injustice that plagues the most helpless among us.  And I am certainly not suggesting that we turn a blind eye to the atrocities that are regularly committed in the very cities we reside.  But perhaps our own homes provide the starting point we tend to overlook in pursuit of grander opportunities.


As the Church of Jesus Christ, we are in a battle for children.  And the battle begins in our own homes.


**All quotes are taken from Russell Moore's excellent, and highly recommended book, "Adopted for Life."  Regardless of your stage of life, this book needs to be on your reading list!