 At least since 1973, the issue of child abortion has been a point of division among Americans. It is a “hot-button” topic among many, inflaming hostility on every level of the political and religious landscape. In order to appreciate the threat of abortion and the fact that it is indeed a problem, we need to first see how God views life. This should be the starting point for any topic of import!
In Genesis 1:26-31, we find creation generally being spoken of by God as being “GOOD” (emphasis mine). Creation itself was an act of compassion. From a great void of darkness, God brought into being not just matter itself, but living creatures that can grow. It was an act that was completely full of His grace. Humanity was given everything they need to survive and thrive. No “work” was required for this provision. The life that God created was then given a MISSION: (Genesis 2:15-17; 4:1,2,25,26)
It should be obvious to the Bible student that God cherishes Life. He wanted the life He created to thrive and be successful. Nature accomplishes this just as designed. Mankind must choose to embrace this success. However, we now have a society that seems to embrace failure. At the very least, failure is robbed of its needed place as an impetus to grow and improve. At worst, failure is our M. O. and we lean on it as a crutch. In order to live up to the mission that God gave mankind at the beginning, we must seek to be successful! God sees life as GOOD. Do we? Following the Creation, we find that God must punish the murder of the innocent (Genesis 4:8-12). Cain is given every possibility to STOP, THINK, and SUBMIT. He serves His own desires by slaying his brother. The rest of the Bible shows us that violence is something that God abhors, and that He will not relent from punishing the unrepentant instigator of that violence. Consider the sheer volume of evidence toward this fact! Genesis 6:11, 13 NKJV - The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ... And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Psalm 11:5 NKJV - The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Proverbs 10:6, 11 NKJV - Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. ... The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Jeremiah 22:3, 17 NKJV - 'Thus says the LORD: "Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. ... "Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence." Ezekiel 7:11 NKJV - Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness; None of them shall remain, None of their multitude, None of them; Nor shall there be wailing for them. Ezekiel 8:17 NKJV - And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. Matthew 11:12 NKJV - "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Those scriptures are not comprehensive. There are many more references we could focus upon. We hope that these verses will encourage us to think more about violence in the way that God thinks about it - with hatred and revulsion. The core issue of the problem of violence is that we serve our own desires and lusts. Instead of loving others, being patient and kind, we will often inflict violence of one sort or another in a way of getting what we want. Our actions reverberate. Ephesians 3:8-12 tells us plainly that our actions as Christians are not only being observed by the physical world, but the spiritual world (“principalities and powers in the heavenly places”). With every decision, we impact God, the heavenly host, and even the Adversary. There is a great responsibility to the station God has established for Christians. In Genesis 4:23-24, we find the words of Cain’s descendant Lamech; they are characterized by vicious responses to small slights. This is the beginning of the world’s “dog-eat-dog” mentality. Many will claim justified vengeance over the smallest slight! In Genesis 19:5,9 we find Sodom being criticized for a general lack of RESTRAINT. In 1 Samuel 20:30-34, Saul is willing to kill his own son Jonathan from a lack of restraint and control as he begins to lose his mind. We must learn from Matthew 21:28-32 - It is indeed a question of WILL! The reality is that abortion is not the MAIN problem in our society, but is a SYMPTOM of a lack of self-restraint. Think about the excuses a potential mother or father might use to support abortion: “A baby would complicate things for me.” “I don’t want it.” “I just want to live my life.” None of these statements say anything for the life being carried by the mother. At its basis, we must accept that abortion is an inherently selfish and self-centered action. We are fighting a world that continually embraces self-absorption. We must let God fight our battles and remind others with the Scriptures that God wants LIFE, not death (John 10:10)! -Steven McCrary |
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