A Matter of Life and Death

Several weeks ago I was browsing a few of my favorite blogs when I came across a post that a friend of mine had written about abortion. I ended up spending the majority of my next couple hours watching the videos she had posted and visiting websites with information on abortion, Planned Parenthood, and the pro-life and pro-choice viewpoints in general. The more I read, saw, and learned, the more my heart broke. How could I be so blind to what was really taking place? Why was the truth so well hidden? I knew that abortion was widespread, and that the methods used in abortions were not humane (or safe and healthy for anyone involved), but I had no idea just how common and inhumane. I knew what my stand was on abortion, but had little information to support that stand. I now have pages filled with information I have gained over the past few weeks. I could easily go on and on about this subject, sharing what I know, along with my thoughts and feelings, but instead of turning this into a super-long post I want to share a few of the things I have learned and encourage you to search out the truth, the facts that are so often hidden, for yourself, and challenge you to decide what you are going to do about it.

Here are some of the things I have learned:
--Under the banner of confidentiality, Planned Parenthood accepts money donated for the specific purpose of aborting African American children and other minorities, to decrease the minority population;
--Under the same banner of confidentiality, illegal abortions are provided to girls as young as thirteen, without parental knowledge or consent;
--While claiming to stand for safety, health, and freedom for women, Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers offer services to women who they know are being sexually abused and often enslaved, without contacting local authorities, or doing anything to stop the injustice these women suffer day in and day out; employees have even been caught on tape giving advice to men posing as pimps (who let the employee know at the beginning of the conversation that they are involved in sex work) on how to get their prostitutes back on the streets as soon as possible after an abortion, and how to pose as the legal guardians of their underage girls;
--If a baby is born alive during an abortion attempt, that baby is often taken to a utility closet and left alone to die;
--Approximately 3,300 babies are aborted every day . . . and this is just in the US.

So, the question is, what are you going to do about it? Abortion is not just a political issue but a matter of life and death. It does negatively affect women who abort their babies, despite what the abortion industry says. Please do not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the injustice around you and the pain of those who have been affected by abortion, but take action. If you want more information, here are a few websites and videos I would highly encourage you to look at:
--http://www.abort73.com/
--http://liveaction.org/traffick
--http://bloodmoneyfilm.com/
--http://exposeplannedparenthood.net/
--http://www.lifeprojectusa.com/
--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9duXeLahkV4&feature
--http://vimeo.com/19007244
*Parental discretion is advised, especially for the videos

And now I want to speak directly to the Christians who may be reading this (but please feel free to keep reading even if you don’t consider yourself a Christian).

People of God, our God is a God of life (John 14:6). He cares for the weak, the defenseless, the fatherless, the widow, the orphan, the abused, the overlooked (Psalm 68:5; Deuteronomy 10:18). He cares about every detail of every life that He has created. Abortion is not just a violation of morality but a violation of His heart and His purposes. This is what should move us to action. Do we not know the nature and heart of our God? We are to be His bride, who intimately knows His heart; a branch in the Vine, simply an agent through which He displays His nature (John 15). Our lives are not our own but have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Just as He gave His life for us, we must die to ourselves and give ourselves wholly to Him, offering our lives to be broken and poured out for the ones He loves. Are you wholly given to the One who wholly gave Himself for you? Are you moved by your heart, or by His heart?

Satan, the enemy of our souls, comes only to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). He is always at enmity with God’s purposes. His power is limited, and therefore he attacks the weak and the vulnerable, those who have none to stand for them. This is what our God says:
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15) As His body, we also are to remember and not forget.
“Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you . . .” (Isaiah 44:2) He forms every life and cares immensely for it. So should we.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you . . .” (Jeremiah 1:5; see also Psalm 139:13-18)
“So it is not the will of My Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:14)

We are to pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on this earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Would God abort in heaven?

It is time to give our hearts to God, to be broken for what breaks His. It is time to wholeheartedly seek to know our Lord. It is time to get on our faces before Him on behalf of the defenseless. It is time to wake up. It is time to tune our ears to hear the cries of the lost and the weak and the vulnerable. It is time to stand for the truth, though it may mean that we are mocked and despised. It is time to be a voice for the voiceless. God’s pattern is that He works through His people. We must offer ourselves to Him to be spent for His purposes, for He is worthy. We must do something. “But what can my one voice accomplish?” you may ask. What if David had asked this question when he was face to face with Goliath? What if we took God at His word and trusted Him with the same faith as David? Would we not also see God move in ways that cannot be explained by the natural? Alone we can accomplish nothing, but when we yield our measly little lives to His power, nothing is impossible (Matthew 17:20; Mark 10:27).

“God is absolutely sovereign and could end abortion today with a thought. But with rare exception God is pleased to work through human means. So the point is this, don’t do nothing. Step out in faith for God’s glory, for your joy, and for the lives of unborn children.” (Mike Spielman)