Dr. King was right...there are some things we can't be silent about...

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

  One of the tragedies with abortion is that it’s rarely considered what potential that life had that was aborted. While it’s true that the next Hitler might be aborted, it’s just as possible that the next Billy Graham was aborted. Perhaps it was the scientist who would have discovered the cure for AIDS or some new alternative form of energy.

  That was brought home to me again as I was reading a book by pastor and author, Michael Youseff. In it he shares the history of his birth. He writes:

  Like the prophet Jeremiah, I was called to preach when I was in my mother’s womb. My mother already had six children and was in very poor health when she became pregnant with me. Because of her medical condition, the doctor recommended an abortion, and she scheduled the procedure. Just before she entered the hospital, however, our pastor made an unusual late night visit to our house. My parents immediately knew that the purpose of the visit was quite serious. ‘Noza,’ he said to my mother, ‘I have a word for you from the Lord.’ ‘Then let us hear it’ my father replied. ‘You are not to terminate this pregnancy,’ Pasto Ayad Girgis said. ‘I am well aware of your health problems, and I would never come to you with such advice if I did not believe with complete certainty that God had sent me.’

  He shared with my parents how he had been unable to sleep for several nights, and how he had sought God about their situation. They listened patiently, not quite understanding, but wanting to be obedient to God’s will. ‘God is involved in this pregnancy,’ the pastor said. ‘Do not be afraid. You will have the strength and help to raise this child, because this child will be born to serve the Lord.’

  My parents understood this message to mean that their yet-unborn child, their seventh, would grow up to be a minister of God. No one in their families had ever been a minister, and the news came as quite a surprise to them. Devout Christians, they accepted the pastor’s message as God’s word, and they obeyed.

  Though it was a very dramatic episode in my family’s life, my prenatal calling is actually not as momentous as it may sound. You see, God knows each one of us intimately, and has a plan for our lives—a plan that He puts into effect before we are born.

  Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday. There are many ways to stand against the violence of abortion. Some will participate in a Life Chain, holding a sign along with others, on a major street or thoroughfare. Others will seek to end abortion legislatively. They’ll vote pro-life and will contact their elected officials, letting them know of their opposition to abortion. And there is nothing wrong with either of those ways. If you want to utilize those methods, they’re viable options as ways to make your voice heard.

  Personally, I believe that the way of the Gospel is the best way, the way of the Great Commission, with the most life-changing and lasting results. There are two vital, yet interconnected parts of the Great Commission: Evangelism and Discipleship.

  Abortion is not new. The practice of abortion, the termination of a pregnancy so that it does not result in birth, dates back to ancient times. Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the administration of abortifacient herbs, the use of sharpened implements, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. The tragedy of abortion was taking place, along with infanticide and a host of other heinous crimes during the days of the early church. Yet, amazingly, those early Christians didn’t seek to end those social ills. In fact, they didn’t do a frontal assault on one of the most grievous evils of that world – slavery. Rather than attacking the fruits of depravity, they wisely went after the root…the heart, and abortion is first and foremost a heart problem.

  Yes, I wish that abortion was illegal. Yet, even if it was illegal that would not result in the end of all abortions. Murder is illegal but it still takes place. And the Bible teaches that if you hate someone, in God’s eyes that’s murder (1 John 3:15). There really is only one solution to both physical murder and heart murder – the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  If Christians would take the Great Commission seriously, for all practical purposes, abortion would cease to exist. To be honest, it’s easier to write a letter or an email, or even stand on a sidewalk holding a sign, than it is to invest the time in reaching out to a neighbor or coworker with the Gospel. It takes time and energy to build a relationship, to cultivate the soil of a soul. It takes prayer and wisdom, asking God to soften a heart and open up doors of opportunities. It takes repeating and explaining the Gospel and changing how it is presented over and over again. It takes sharing who you are and your life. After all, how many of us accepted and understood the Gospel the first time we heard it.

  Yet, when someone trusts Christ, they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and have a renewed mind. Issues that they once did not understand, now become crystal clear. It’s a new world for them because they’re now part of God’s Forever Family. There is nothing more thrilling than watching someone’s spiritual lights come on.

  And that’s where Discipleship comes in. As you would not abandon a newborn, so it’s vital that we help that new believer with some of the spiritual basics: consistent Bible reading, prayer, being part of the family in the local church, a biblical worldview, service, giving, etc. Frequently, we assume that new believers or young Christians (even in our homes) will just “get it.”

  A lost world bombards us with an anti-God worldview 24/7. There needs to be an ongoing, gracious open dialogue challenging the assumptions of a lost world. Most of us would probably be shocked in how anti-Christian the worldviews are of our children and grandchildren. We often assume that they’ve processed more of a biblical worldview than they have. It’s a little late when someone that we love and have an influence on faces a crises and chooses the wrong option because they have never been discipled and biblically educated. Sanctity of Life Sunday for the believer must not be a once a year event. It must be part of our lives and thinking, who we are. Is it part of yours?