The Truth Must Be Told
I tend to withhold my opinion in the midst of controversy. I wish most people would. If it’s political, I generally have an opinion, but sharing it publicly only detracts from my life’s mission to connect people with God. I don’t want those who would disagree with my opinions on minor issues to keep them from listening to me on the most important ones.But when it comes to life and death, that’s not a small matter.As Christians, sometimes it is the right thing to speak out on matters in the spotlight. Particularly when lives are at stake. I’m glad Christians spoke out on the value of human life in the 19th century. They ended slavery.When it comes to abortion, too many of us have been way too quiet.I was reminded of that this morning when a member posted an article written by a friend who herself had been the victim of abortion. She’d been told the lies perpetrated by those profiting in the industry: "a fetus is just a mass of tissue", "it’s not alive", "it won’t hurt", etc. In reality, she’s been hurting over this the rest of her life. And that story has been told to me personally countless times by women who were betrayed by trusted people (family and physicians) during a very vulnerable time.So the truth must be told. This is what God says about human life in the womb:• Life begins at conception. The Scriptures refer to our lives as being given to us by our fathers (Proverbs 23:22). How could that be in any way other than conception? Life begins at conception, and from our earliest days, God is the one who actively formed us into the unique people we are (Psalm 139:13). Long before we were born, he made us to be spiritual beings with his own plan for our lives (Jeremiah 1:5).• Unborn babies matter to God. Because he took great care and delight in forming us in the womb, he cares about every human being who is yet unborn. And he refers to them as 'belonging to him.' "From my mother’s womb You have been My God" (Psalm 22:10).• God takes it personally when an unborn child is harmed. Every unique human being is loved and cared for by God. When another person takes that life, they are taking the life of one created in God’s own image, and one who was uniquely created to reflect and glorify God in a special way. That’s why the Old Testament law demanded a penalty for those who would harm an innocent unborn child (Exodus 21:22-23).I’ve always been pro-life. I remember feeling sick when I learned of the Supreme Court ruling when I was only twelve. But technology has changed things so dramatically. We know things today we didn’t know in 1973. We now know that a baby’s heart begins beating before the earliest of abortions. We now know that a baby feels pain as early as 8 weeks and we have video proof of an innocent abortion victim recoiling from the instruments used to kill her. We are now able to sustain the life of a child outside the womb as early as 22 weeks. And we now have evidence of a child developing his own unique personality long before being delivered. You’d think the science would have changed our perspective.But the prevalence of abortion in the western world has also corrupted our values. We’ve grown colder, less caring, further from the morals of our creator. The debate today isn’t even over whether or not an unborn fetus is human life. We know it is. Proponents of abortion today will instead insist that it is less valuable human life. That callousness toward the sacred nature of every human being has taken a toll. So now, despite the gruesome nature of Planned Parenthood’s business of selling baby body parts, few media outlets have picked it up and even many Christians have paid little attention.Now if it were puppy body parts? That would be a different story. CNN and Hollywood’s elite would be all over that.This is not a matter to keep to ourselves. As followers of Jesus, we must be the voice of the ones who are crying but cannot be heard. (Proverbs 31:8).