[PLEASE check in tomorrow for a series of articles on abortion in America. ALSO, please be sure to tune in to today's broadcast of "Truth That Transforms"(Orlando, Sun.-5 pm, ch. 55.1; Mon. 7 pm, ch. 52.2) or download it at www.truthinaction.org It will be another powerful message on the sanctity of human life you will not want to miss!]
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“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women]to do nothing.” – [attributed to] Edmund Burke
Today we recognize “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.” It is also the day in 1973 that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the unborn to be “non-persons” and allowed for them to be aborted – their life terminated – at any point while they resided in their mother’s womb. It is ironic that two days ago, January 20th, marked the day 70 years ago when the Nazi regime officially began its attempt to completely exterminate the Jewish people in their sphere of influence. Now we are in the midst of the on-going American Holocaust in which over 57 MILLION of our most innocent citizens have been murdered and tens of millions of women and men have been victimized.
As Chuck Colson wrote in the article I posted on Friday(1/20)[#176], while it’s understandable these days that people most want to talk about the need for job creation and the bad state of our economy, the poor moral health of our nation must not be disregarded from our discussions. Great nations throughout history have not fallen so much from a poor economy as from moral decay. Our nation is never in greater danger than when its concerns are so limited to the material (the “pocketbook” issues) that it turns its back on the “social” issues.
As Christians, I, of course, believe that we need to work for the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission (Mat. 28:18-20). But I have long been concerned with what I call the Great Omission, for which I reference in Matthew 5:13. When Jesus calls us in this verse to be “salt,” he refers to adding “flavor” or “taste” to society. I believe it refers to making a difference in the society God has placed us in and made us stewards of, in effect to being effective Christian citizens. While Christians still comprise a significant portion of our society, it has to be asked “Why are we not making more of an impact on our society (apart from spiritually)?”
The answer, I fear, is that too many of us have withdrawn from any involvement for fear of getting mixed up with what we consider “political,” which is somehow supposed to be anathema for “spiritual” creatures. But is that really true? Where would be the Judeo-Christian foundations of our country that has clearly been the cause for it succeeding as a republic had our Founding Fathers retreated to their churches instead of becoming involved in politics? Furthermore, the anti-slavery, prison reform, and even women’s rights are among many causes that in their time were considered “political” were in fact led by Christians.
This need - no, this requirement - for Christians to be “salt” in our society was brought home to me in 1987 while I was at a Christian world-view retreat. One day, we were all shown the film, “The Silent Scream,” which showed the images of a baby as it was about to be aborted in its mother’s womb. (It was produced by the former abortionist, the late Dr. Bernard Nathanson.) Just as the scalpel is shown entering the womb and the baby clearly fights to get away, the screen mercifully goes to black. By that time, I had risen to my feet and stood at the back of the room in absolute horror.
As I reflected on this later, I concluded that in the 14 years I had been a Christian until then (and had almost 13 years been in Christian ministry), I had had no memory of ever once hearing the subject of abortion discussed. It didn’t take me long to realize that the subtle implication impressed on me had always been that abortion was a “Catholic” issue, that we evangelicals were supposed to be concerned about the “more important” issue of evangelism. (It really is sad the way Christians are often guilty of comparing their “spirituality” with that of others.) But as I saw the horror that is abortion presented to me in that film, I was suddenly aware that abortion is not so much a “political” or a “Catholic” issue but really a human rights issue. I’ve since learned that even in the first century, when infanticide as well as abortion was accepted practice in the larger society, Christians demonstrated the love of Christ by literally rescuing many such endangered children. There can be no doubt that their unselfish actions went a long way in causing many to be drawn to the gospel of Christ.
Today, you will probably not find a single evangelical church or evangelical that does not say they are pro-life. And yet in my over 38 years as a Christian, I have rarely heard the pro-life message proclaimed from the pulpits I’ve sat under. I also rarely meet a Christian who can describe what they have done as a “pro-life” Christian. Is being “pro-life” merely a descriptive term like “evangelical” that in the lives of many Christians in essence means little in reality?(Mark 11:12-13) It leaves me to ask, if the day came (and if you think this is not possible you really haven’t been paying attention to what is going on in America) when a person could be arrested for being pro-life or a church taken to court for declaring itself to be such, would there be sufficient evidence to convict them?
When we stand before God, will we be praised for helping to fulfill the Great Commission but be chastened for being part of the Great Omission -of generally being negligent as steward-citizens of this great nation in standing up to that which threatens the “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” of it’s people, especially its most vulnerable?
If individual Christians do not (in some tangible way) stand up against the evil of abortion, are we contributing to its becoming a norm and as acceptable in society? If Christians do not speak up for the women who will be victimized by their abortion, are we failing to provide the message of God’s forgiveness and to offer healing to the hurting? In effect, in our desire to stay away from “all things political,” we fail to be “our brother’s keeper,” then what is our message? “All that is necessary…[see quote above].”
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