WORSHIP WITH YOUR BRAIN: HOW PRO-LIFE ARE YOU?

“I admire your passion for these unborn babies, but if abortion is outlawed who’s going to take care of them?”

Someone asked this question of me recently on social media after I posted articles and made statements on my Facebook page during the Planned Parenthood revelations. This person was echoing many on the liberal side of the issue. They are under the impression that if these children were not aborted, they would be abandoned or grow up in deplorable circumstances. The accusation I have heard made is that the pro-life crowd want abortion to end but they are not willing to step up to the plate and take in these unwanted children.

My response was if abortion became illegal, Christians would rise to meet the need, because, I believe in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would bring great conviction upon the hearts of Christians to take in any and all unwanted children. I believe this because this is what Christians have been moved to do in the past.

It was common practice in Roman culture to leave unwanted babies at the city dump. “Roman law, religion and the entire ethos of their world saw nothing morally wrong with infanticide or with abandoning newborns.”[1]

Sometimes infertile couples would go and rescue these children and adopt them. Others would retrieve them for the purpose of slavery. Christians would go and rescue these children from the dumps simply because they believed this was the right thing to do. Some of those children were already sick and dying. The Christians who found them cared for them until their death. “The catacombs [in Rome] are filled with very tiny graves with the epitaph “adopted daughter of…” or “adopted son of…” inscribed on them.”[2] Christians did it then, and they will do it again because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

That being said, I am not certain the present mindset of most Christians is prepared for such an undertaking. Many who wave the pro-life banner have not thought through what an abortion-free America would look like. Yes it would be wonderful were it to happen. But it also would require Christians do more than they are currently doing. Let's face it: taking needy children into one’s home is hardly the American Dream. How much inconvenience are Christians willing to accept if Roe v. Wade is overturned? Are we willing to show the defenders of abortion rights that their argument is a red herring? I am concerned there is some element of truth to the accusation.

Recently, God brought two little girls, ages 2 and 3, to us to care for while their parents get their lives on track. These girls were prime candidates for an abortion. I am glad their mother and father chose life, but the way the champions of abortion rights would see it is it would have been better had they never been born. Children in their situation often become wards of the state. Many end up shuffled around in foster care which can be just as detrimental to their well-being as the environments that they were taken from. The logic goes like this: If they had been aborted, then this wouldn’t happen.

How will Christians counter such a claim? Not by marches, protests or speaking in front of abortion clinics alone, but by standing in the gap and using whatever means we have been given by God to eradicate ALL and ANY perceived “need” for abortion to exist. For some of us that means being willing to take in kids who need a home. For some it means adopting children who might have slim chances of being adopted. If this is not possible, it may be supporting organizations and individuals that can do it.

Many of our friends have expressed their admiration for our being willing to take in these girls because they recognized the sacrifice, the challenges and uncertainty that comes with such a decision. As much as my flesh wants to be seen as a hero, so much about this is basic to Christianity. We are just doing what needs doing, not because we are great people but because Jesus is a great savior.

Psalm 72:4 says, “He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.” This was the job description of the King, David’s son which means its also Jesus’ job description. If this is what Jesus is into – saving the children of the needy – then we should be too, inside and outside of the womb.