On The Anniversary of Roe v Wade

Today is the 46th anniversary of Roe v Wade. The anniversary of Roe v Wade has always been a sad day but in recent years, it’s been an even more bitter pill to swallow. For forty-six years, the unalienable rights of the unborn to live their lives have been trampled under the guise of progress. But there is nothing progressive about the injustices that today brings to the forefront of my mind. The injustice of life being torn away from the innocent before they even breathe their first breath by medical professionals, by their own parents, by people who should be protecting them. The injustice of a society that makes a woman feel like the loss of her child is the only way she can move forward. The injustice of a world where life is discarded by some and is the only prayer of others.

There is something heartbreaking about a society that does not protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us.

There is a breakdown when those who should instinctively protect, those who have sworn to do no harm, harm the most innocent among us.

As Christians, we believe that God created each one of us with purpose and dignity. The first person to recognize Jesus was John the Baptist, in utero. Before he was born, before he could form words to respond in praise, John leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. Unborn children are not cells, are not inconsequential lives, they are lives that matter deeply to our God. Injustice carried out against them should shake us to our core.

There is also something deeply disturbing about a society that would force a woman into a situation where her only position was to take the life of her child.

Especially as believers, we should be working not only to protect life, but to come alongside those who are in difficult situations as the hands and feet of Christ. In Genesis, Tamar found herself pregnant and alone. She was widowed and victimized by her father-in-law, Judah. The people of the town called for her execution when they discovered she was pregnant. But, when God convicted Judah of his sin, Tamar was spared. And not just spared, but God gave her a place of dignity as a direct ancestor of Christ.

As believers, we should be willing to overlook what we may not understand to come alongside women choosing life. We should be the hands and feet of Christ and come alongside, gently encouraging and restoring as Paul instructed the Galatians.

Today’s injustice hits home in a very personal way. After years of struggling with infertility, I can’t help but stop and wonder at the plan of a God who gives a child to one couple, who chooses abortion, and withholds a child from a couple begging to raise a child to follow His ways.

I wonder but yet, I see so clearly how I am called to live, how we as the Church are called to respond, as the hands and feet of Christ. Christ was clear about his position on innocent life and on our role in living that out. James tells us that pure and undefiled religion means that we care for those who have no one to care for them.

This is an opportunity for us as the Church to step up and overwhelmingly welcome children into our home. As we continue on the fight to end abortions, let us be active in our own communities in coming alongside mothers in tough situations and opening our homes in foster care and adoption.

The battle against abortion has been a long one. But we must not grow weary as we continue to fight against this injustice. There are many ways we can tangibly come alongside to help the innocent in need of homes and support mothers in difficult positions. This is how we live out our Christians morals and continue to make strides against the injustice in this world.