Showing Christ's Love to Those Struggling with Abortion
Over the past week, there have been many different opinions and discussions on the internet about Roe Vs Wade. As Christians, we are called to help those that are in need whether they be pregnant women, families, or those who have undergone an abortion. So how can we as Christians approach the individuals involved with abortion? We are to show them Christ's love before and after abortions while being sensitive to their pain and experiences.
What is Roe vs. Wade Decision?
Roe vs. Wade was a decision made by the Supreme Court in 1973 to allow legal abortion in every state. Effectively it took away a state's power to determine the legality of abortion. This past week the judgment came from the Supreme Court, that the Federal government has no right to make a law about abortion. They have passed the decision of abortion legality back to the states. For this article, we will be defining abortion as the choice made by a woman to terminate a viable pregnancy.
Many women have made this decision (and some pregnancies come about due to horrific circumstances of violent, abusive, evil actions) thinking it was the best choice and now live with regret and sadness of that choice. I am here to tell you that you do not have to live like that. Jesus Christ died and rose again to forgive us of ALL our sins. We are all sinners and forgiveness is sweet and available in Jesus. If you repent and ask God to forgive you, he will. You can live a life marked by redemption rather than regret.
God's View on Children
Let them Come
Open your Bible and flip to the New Testament and you will find many passages that speak to Jesus' love for children. All children no matter the way or reason in which they were born. The most popular scripture passage is that of Luke 18 when Jesus does something different than everyone else. Instead of pushing children away, which was the cultural norm, Jesus says to bring the children closer and let them come to him.
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God”
Luke 18:16
Jesus not only tells his disciples to let the children come to him, but he also speaks of the joy that occurs when a new human is brought into the world. We can see that in John 16. There is much anguish when delivering a child, but in the end there is joy!
When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world
John 16:21
The last scripture we are going to look at (there are many more), is from Matthew. We have looked at how Jesus not only wanted children near him but the joy that they bring. Now we see that Jesus again tells us not to despise one of the little ones.
See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven
Matthew 18:10
When reading the New Testament it is easy to see that children are a gift from God. That they are to be loved, a joy to us, and be a part of the Lord's family. Children are an amazing gift from God. As Christians, we need to remind those thinking of abortion of the gift that children are. But it isn't just the New Testament that speaks of how we should and shouldn't treat children, the Old Testament also speaks on this topic.
Do not Sacrifice Your Children
Open up the Old Testament and you will find verse after verse about sacrifice. You will learn of Molec the false god that was worshiped through the sacrifice of children, of babies. Sacrificing babies is nothing new, our society has just learned how to sacrifice them before they are born.
Ezekiel 16:20-21 ESV And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?
Many in our society don't have an issue with adult women, making a conscious choice to abort their child simply because it won't fit their lifestyle. These women and supporters of these women are offering their children as a sacrifice. They are killing their child in the name of science, wealth, or a "better" life. We can see in Ezekiel that men and women were sleeping around and then killing those children. Although the killing in our society looks different than it did in the past, we live in the same sinful world as in the past.
But Ezekiel isn't the only spot we see of the sacrifice of babies in the Old Testament. We can also look at Psalm 106, Leviticus 18, 20, Deuteronomy 12, Jeremiah 7, 2 Kings 17,23, Amos 1, 2 Chronicles 33 and many more.
Now, there is good news for us! We do not have to let these killings go on. There is much that we can do to support these women and families as they struggle with these tough decisions. When internet discussions get started on these topics, instead of fighting with our words we can turn to scripture and respond in love with God's Word. Let God and his Word stand. Christians have a responsibility to love those dealing with abortion.
Humanity in the Womb
Babies are humans. Plain and simple. A baby in the womb is not an inhuman fetus it is a baby human. Culture might disagree but we have scripture that tells us differently. God made us and formed us in the womb before we were born.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5
Jeremiah was a prophet sent by God to bring judgment on His nation. God tells Jeremiah that he was formed and appointed a prophet while in the womb. God didn't consider Jeremiah a fetus, easily discarded before he was born. No, God already knew everything about Jeremiah. God created Jeremiah in his mother's womb and appointed him a prophet BEFORE his birth.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb
Psalm 139:13
We continue reading the Old Testament to find that this pre-birth human status wasn't just something special about Jeremiah but that we all are known by God before birth. Psalm 139 tells us that God formed us in our mother's womb. God knew who we were before we were born. We were humans before birth.
Since we have determined that God loves children before and after birth, how can we as Christians engage culture? How can we love and support individuals going through these challenging times? What's the best way to present the true hope of the gospel of Jesus to doctors, administrators, and nurses who have assisted in this practice of death? How are we to love those who have suffered atrocious evil done to them, and then had an abortion (some who were underage and only had an abortion at the demand of their abusive perpetrator)? Do we speak the truth in love to those who were not believers when they had an abortion but now struggle with regret and guilt?
How Christians Should Engage Culture
We have determined that according to scripture babies are humans before they are born and are a precious, joyous gift from God. Let's move on to talking about how as Christians we should engage this issue in our culture.
No Trolls
Stay away from the trolls. No, not real trolls. You know the trolls online who like to bait, argue, and disagree with no intention of a fair, two-way, interactive conversation. It will be up to your discretion whether to engage in an online argument or discussion about such topics. I encourage you to pray about this issue before engaging.
In my experience, many people posting online don't generally want to have a discussion. They want their stance on an issue to be known and to find out which of their friends agree or disagree. Online forums are NOT the best way to have conversations about the sanctity of life.
Prayer
Before we even start helping in this manner, we should be praying. Praying is one of the most important things that we can do to help others. If you are not already, I'd suggest you start praying daily for those affected by abortions. Pray for those women who are making these tough decisions and that God would open their hearts and show them the error of their ways. Pray for the church and that we will be able to come alongside women sufferings from past decisions and present choices.
You can take your individual praying one step further and organize prayer groups at your church and community. Spend time in prayer as a group asking God to give you opportunities to show his love to those around you.
Disciple
God might be calling you to disciple someone who is or has gone through this struggle. Through this, you can spend time in shorter conversations giving support to that individual needs. There might be times for longer conversations which will allow more in-depth discussions. Use this time together to point the individual towards God, His Word, and love. You don't need to be a counselor for this individual, but you do need to show love and invite them into your life.
Let's ensure that as we are discipling and praying for the women we do not forget the men. Men are also a huge part of this equation. They need prayer and discipleship just as much as a woman does. The church needs to come alongside the men who are wrestling with abortion just as much as we need to come alongside women.
There are many ways that we as individuals can show love and support to others navigating the waters of abortion. We need to remember that we are to point everyone towards God and what his word says. We also need to provide love and resources for individuals so they do not feel alone or unworthy. If you are looking for some organization you or your church can support or different programs you can start to checking out this post from Gospel Coalition.