Dave’s Monday Blast – December 12, 2022
Last week we examined the account of the Magi found only in Matthew 2. It was clear that they believed the child in the manager was indeed the long awaited Messiah; their gifts clearly affirmed their faith in that specific child being the literal fulfillment of the O.T. Messianic Prophecies. The efforts of King Herod also found in Matthew 2:16 support their belief in Jesus being the Messiah as he ordered the death of all baby boys two years and younger throughout the region in an effort to eliminate a threat to his authority. The more I study this account, the more I understand the battle raging in our country over the value of a child’s life. Satan hates children. He knew from the garden that the coming Messiah would end his reign of terror over humankind.
Just as God appeared to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 2:13) and warned him to gather his family and flee in order to protect the life of the baby Jesus, He repeatedly warns us to protect the most fragile of our fellow humans; it is our job (James 1:27 as i.e.)!
The Denison Forum provides three responses of the Church to the MANIC efforts within our culture to murder or otherwise harm children: (Pastor Jim Denison is a cultural apologist and his daily commentary is worth a read)
The first response is logical: Scripture aside, science clearly teaches that unborn humans are without debate also human. From the moment of conception, the fetus contains all forty-six human chromosomes and is able to develop only into a human being. Nothing new will be added except the growth and development of what exists from conception. At twelve weeks, the unborn baby is only about two inches long, but every organ of the human body is clearly in place. As a result, a child prior to birth deserves the same legal protections it will receive the moment it is born. All that happens in that moment is that it changes locations from inside its mother’s womb to outside of it. Making the case that pre-born children are children is foundational to saving their lives from abortion. (Of course there are several states in the union, California being one, where ending the life of a child up to one week after delivery is not punishable by law.)
The second response is practical: Pregnant women deserve all the support they need. Every reason women cite for choosing abortion is a need we can meet. From financial support (the # 1 cause of abortion) to counseling and medical resources, churches and ministries can help mothers choose life.
The third response is spiritual: Many in our culture, including the church, claim to be personally opposed to abortion but don’t feel they have the right to make this decision for others. Tolerance is the cardinal ethos of a relativistic culture in which “we have no right to force our beliefs on others.” Abortion decisions are best left to mothers who must make them, or so we’re told. Of course, in every other dimension of life we enact laws to protect us from each other and even from ourselves. From illegal drugs to seat belt laws, we “force our beliefs” on one another. The greater the consequences, the more strict the law and the more severe the punishment. (It is still the law of the land to prosecute someone for two murders if a pregnant woman is murdered.)
Irrationally, when innocent, defenseless pre-born humans are at risk, we decide we cannot “force our beliefs” on those who would take their lives. To this point Denison concludes: This deception comes from “the father of lies” (John 8:44) who blinds the minds of those he deceives (2 Corinthians 4:4) and “comes to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).
The fight for life has shifted into a new season in which every community is on the front lines. This means you and I are also on the front lines. We need to make the logical case for life wherever we can. We need to support ministries (which I am pleased to say we do as a church body: Sierra Pregnancy and Health in Auburn and Living Well Medical in Grass Valley) that support pregnant women considering abortion. And we need to pray daily for a spiritual awakening that would expose the darkness of deception to the light of truth.
Joni Eareckson Tada observed: “Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.”
