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A
Question of Choice
by
John Carnes
A
friend of mine called today. He was worried
about his wife. In front of the retail store
she manages there just happened to be an
anti-abortion protest going on today. My
friends wife, Jane (not her real name of
course), was shaken by this. She had an
abortion ten years ago.
Jane
is a Christian now; she wasn't back then.
She believes in the sanctity of human life;
she was a scared and confused young adult
back then. She know that her child is in
heaven and the Lord has forgiven her, but
yet, seeing the pictures of an aborted baby
flashed in her face as she tries to go to
work devastates her as if its happening all
over again.
This
has brought me to some questions in my own
heart that I keep returning to. When I
listen to the hearts cry of emerging
churches, I hear a lot about ministering to
the poor. I hear about taking up the cause
of the disenfranchised, and the oppressed. I
hear the pacifist cry out in opposition to
the violence of war. I even hear the cry for
equality of those who have chosen to seek
marriage in a non-tradition, most would say
anti-traditional, manner. But what I dont
hear much of is a cry for the unborn, or for
the millions of women who are tonight
traumatized by their encounter with
abortion.
Abortion
is the biggest killer of Americans. I know
that it can be argued and refuted, but if
you believe, as I do, that our life begins
at conception and that God knows us
intimately even before we take our first
breath, then we must be willing to look at
the truth that abortion kills. We must also
look at the truth that millions of potential
great leaders, doctors, ministers,
politicians, authors, poets, songwriters,
actors, have never had the chance to share
their gift with the world. Its my belief
that the cure for AIDS or cancer may have
been lost in a doctors office.
And
what about Jane? What about the women who
bear the pain of losing, for some, the only
child they will ever have? Yes, I understand
that its their choice, as we recently heard
on the Washington mall, but I've seen too
many with a sadness in their eyes when they
speak of the choice they've made.
I
believe that there must be education; there
must be efforts made to curb the continuing
rise in abortions performed in this nation.
But most of all, I believe that the church
must become who Jesus would be to those
affected by this tragedy.
Would
Jesus be protesting in such an obnoxious,
arrogant way, as if to throw the sin of an
ashamed, unknowing young girl in her face to
prove their point? Not my Jesus. How did
Jesus handle the woman caught in adultery?
Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no
more. He didn't condone her sin, told her
flat out that what she did was sin, but she
knew that already. What she didn't know is
that someone could love her in spite of her
sin. That's the message the church must
bring.
But
don't we have to get the truth of this
atrocity out? Yes, but there is such a
better way. Can we honestly believe that
protests can change a persons heart, but a
caring, loving person who enters someone's
life and helps them through their pain,
fear, and struggle wont change it?
You
see, it really does come down to a question
of choice: what we really are willing to
give to what we believe. Are we willing to
sacrifice enough to spend time with a young
woman in a crisis pregnancy, or support a
woman even after she's had an abortion,
making ourselves available to her should she
need a shoulder to cry on? Are we willing to
enter the political process to make sure
that a voice of integrity and knowledge (not
just zeal and ignorance) is heard about this
matter?
Its
a whole lot easier to carry a placard and
condemn someone's choices than it is to get
involved in peoples lives and be Jesus with
skin on.
Let
there be no mistake: I am pro-life, but I am
also pro-people. I believe the Church is
Gods expression of Himself on this earth.
But to a lot of people, God is getting a bad
rap. Let us not allow this new, emerging
generation of the Church forget to stand
with those who face this tragedy. Let us
never forget those innocents who have never
seen daylight this side of eternity. Let us
be Jesus to the moms and dads who will never
hold their babies. Let us not let the
politics of this issue keep us from the
people of this issue.
__________________
john
is pioneering an emerging worship gathering
in his church in Fairmont, WV. He is married
to his wonderful wife, Joanne (for ten
years) and is the father of the beautiful
little Sarah (who is five). He blogs
regularly at http://skywalking.blogs.com.
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