Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Life, Death, and Mercy

Today, on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, is the March for Life.

When we stop and think about babies brutally killed; of mothers (and sometimes fathers) bearing the spiritual and emotional scars of such a horror; and of communities damaged and hardened, the stark wretchedness of death is made very painful. It is difficult to hold my baby and think of it. Perhaps that is why so many of us try not to think of it.

What kind of a world is this, where mothers face such fear and desperation that they make an appointment with death? What kind of a world is it, where babies die? Yet Christ tells us, "Take heart, for I have overcome the world."

Today, people are marching in D.C. to honor life. Pastor Esget, whose church I attended while living in Virginia, is preaching a sermon before they march.
For whether this is our last March or we have to come back 41 more years, we have something greater than an anti-abortion message. We have the good news that the glory of God is in the Living Man, Christ Jesus our Lord, risen from the grave. He has trampled down death by His death, and the devil’s defeat is secure. We march with confident serenity behind the crucified-yet-living One, with the message of His forgiveness and life.
You should read all of his sermon. It is found HERE.



I was also moved today by a post from Heather at Mama Knows, Honeychild. She nearly had an abortion herself, and she reminds us that "Acting Like a Jerk Won't Save Any Babies."

Winning the argument isn't winning the battle. What we want to win are hearts, and hearts are never won through condescension or being "right". We aren't going to change the world by obsessively posting one predictable facebook status after another. We're going to alienate ourselves and make people want to slap us. Acting like a jerk won't save any babies.

There is a time and place for strong words, for righteous anger, for compassion, and for mercy. We humans don't always know which time or place we are in. That is why we pray, "Lord, have mercy."




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