Abortion

If ever there was a topic I wanted to avoid, it is this one. I wanted to avoid the topic of abortion because I don't want to judge or condemn anyone. I don't want to hurt people unnecessarily. But I am finding that too many people are staying silent about the things that matter. We can tiptoe around subjects for fear of hurting people - but while we're doing that, this world is screaming lies at the top of its lungs about those topics, and people are ignorantly believing them. I also know that when everything we're saying comes from a point of love - hurt is not possible. Our words can be eye opening - and God can use them to convict people for sure, but when it's all said in love, it's hard to fault. My prayer for this post is 2 things: 1. that you would begin to think of this topic and realize the truth of what God says about it, and 2. For those who have personally experienced an abortion, I pray you would find forgiveness and healing in Jesus. No, you cannot go back and undo what happened, but He loves you. He wants you. He chooses you and He has forgiven you.

Awhile back, just like many of you, I started hearing about some guy called Gosnell who performed abortions on women already in their third trimester of pregnancy. In some cases the babies were born alive, and he killed them. Reading details of this case, I wanted to throw up. My heart went out to the women who found themselves in that place, and my heart went out to all the babies who lost their lives. But what struck me was this thought: why is everyone so aware of how wrong the murder of the babies born alive were, and yet they are the same people who support abortion? The way I see it is, it's not any different. When he took those scissors and killed those alive babies, it was no different than what happens inside the womb through an abortion. The only thing is, you dont see it. You dont see the baby whose life is being taken from it.  So why is it that we are repulsed by such murder, and yet we look the other way or even support people choosing to murder life that is inside the womb?

Yes, I know there are so many reasons that women choose to have abortions, but at the end of the day, there is no reason that is enough. I've heard it all from 'I'm too young' or 'the baby is sick' or 'I just cant cope', there are even those who just blatantly say ' I dont want a baby.' And I know that abortion clinics and even some doctors will say that it is not yet a baby, that is just a 'fetus' or it just a bunch of tissue. But the reality is this: if you know you're pregnant, then the baby's heart is already beating. The baby's body is already formed. By week 5 of pregnancy, the baby has a brain and a spinal cord, and it's heart is beating. The baby is becoming this little person, and the amazing thing is, it's life is already planned. The baby is already loved, known, and purposed by the God who created him or her. So when you realize you are pregnant, you have to realize, this is new life in you. It might be scary, but Scripture says that in all things, we are to choose life, not death.

Which leads to my second point. If you are someone who has experienced an abortion in the past, I want you to know how deeply sorry I am. Sorry for you, and sorry for your baby. Chances are, it's a choice you have struggled with since, and forgetting is not as easy as you had hoped it would be. But today is a new day, and it's a day when you need to know just how forgiven you are. Stop running from your past, stop running from what happened, and make a choice to receive that forgiveness. I know you might feel like it's too late, or you're too dirty, too undeserving, but the truth is, we're all undeserving. No, I have not had an abortion, but I have done things that make me just as sinful, just as dirty. God sees it all the same, no sin is worse than the other. But He chose to make a way for our forgiveness. I wish I knew how to say this without it sounding so cliche but this is why Jesus died. His Life and His Blood - it's powerful enough for God to accept us. The moment you walked in that clinic, the second you consented to have life removed from you, He chose you. He wanted you. He saw what you were doing, and still claimed you as His daughter. You've gotta accept that freedom and forgiveness.

I don't even know what my entire point with this blog post is, except that those who know the Truth have to speak. And the truth is that abortion is wrong. It's murder - it's taking an innocent life away. So if you find yourself in a position of wondering, 'do I keep this baby or not?' - please consider the other options. Think about finding the strength to keep the baby, and love the baby with everything you have. And if that is truly not an option, then choose life anyway. Choose to give the baby up for adoption. A ridiculously hard decision - yes - but still no where near as difficult as abortion.

For anyone who wants to read more on this topic check out Cole Ryan's blog post 'Abortion'
Or Matt Chandler's sermon 'Abortion'
Also, Ann Voskamp shares some really wise thoughts here in what 'Gosnell and the Gospel Mean to the Brave.'