Shining Some Light In The Darkness

“…. who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” – Romans 1:25, 29-32

It seems the issue of right to life – abortion rights – has bubbled up to the American consciousness – laws being passed – lawsuits filed.  I thought I would try to bring some perspective on the issue – and I know that what I write will in no way be exhaustive. There are so many issues intertwined with respect to the whys and wherefores that the best I can hope for is to encourage you to have a spiritual perspective on the matter. First some facts.

There were 862,320 abortions in the United States in 2020.   60 percent were first time. 60 percent of the women already had children. 80 percent were unmarried. 93 percent of the women had an abortion before 13 weeks, with a large percentage between 6 and 13 weeks. There are arguments about when a fetus is a human life. But wherever the line is drawn by men, after that point a woman has no more right to take that life than they do of their two year old son or daughter. Ok you get the idea.

I used Romans chapter 1 as the scripture reference to give the issue spiritual perspective.  Abortions, with some exceptions, is a way of promoting sin with little or no consequence to the sinner. Our culture (actually most of the countries in the world), having exchanged the truth of God for a lie, has said that removing the fetus from the womb is not killing a human.  But what is at the root of this? Well, it is the fact that there is a fetus at all. Apart from artificial insemination there is only one way for an egg to be fertilized – by having sex with a man. Remember 80 percent of the women are not married. But having sex with someone is nobody else’s business, right? Our culture promotes having sexual relationships outside of the context of marriage as “normal” and acceptable. That message is all around us – glamorized – encouraged.

Years ago, my brother, Rick, gave me a book to read – The Culture of Narcissism. (It is not light reading) In his book, Christopher Lasch argues that the “me generation” was in fact, dysfunctional, empty, and worthy of contempt. Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance and an excessive pre-occupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. To simplify that, it is a description of fallen mankind.

With respect to the abortion issue, we seem to overlook the reason the woman has an “unwanted pregnancy” to begin with. We can point to social – cultural issues and wrongs – but the fact of the matter is that the reason is sin.  There is but one solution for sin – that would be Jesus. That message is not well received by people with hardened hearts – to them that solution seems wishful – fanciful – simplistic – unrealistic – perhaps antiquated.  Rather than call it truth, they call it “your opinion”, and accuse you of not caring about the woman who is pregnant with an unwanted child because of her choice to have sex with someone who is not her husband.  That could not be farther from the truth. 

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. – John 3:19

Man’s laws constrain behavior that the culture has declared to be unlawful – harmful to others. Faith in Jesus transforms the heart and gives power to resist sin, whatever its form.  

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone