Hopeless for the Helpless?

In the wake of Election Day 2008, I have heard many people commenting on how sad they are for unborn children who will be aborted in our country. I have to say that I am totally right there. If Obama and Congress move to pass the Freedom of Choice Act and lift the ban on partial-birth abortion, there will likely be more helpless babies killed than ever before. (For a description of partial-birth abortion, click here. Warning! It's horrifying!).

I read a few ads during this political season saying, "It's illegal to give a Tylenol to a child without parental consent, but it's okay to perform an abortion on that same child without consulting the parents. Something is wrong with this picture." Pretty wild if you think about it, but sadly it's the case in many states. In the end, the whole thing seems a bit hopeless, right?

Well, maybe not. Here's my take on it. It is totally true that the Lord is sovereign and that He is in control of all of this. We can fully trust Him. However, that doesn't mean that we have to sit back and wait around for some edict to come from the government making abortion illegal in order to protect the helpless unborn. Our sovereign Lord doesn't use only elected officials and their power to outlaw abortion as His means to save babies. If we really are pro-life, then here are a few possible ways we can help to save unborn children right now...

One obvious one is to volunteer at an established crisis pregnancy center. Or team up with other believers in your community to get the necessary training and start a crisis pregnancy center.

Another is to continually remain involved in public affairs and political issues. We can regularly contact our elected officials and let them hear from us on this matter. We should for sure be praying that the Lord softens their hearts, that they hear His voice, and that "pro-choice" officials change their minds.

We can also be proactive in many ways. For example, what about investing our lives in young men and women, whether they are our own or someone else's? What if we loved the Lord so much ourselves that it was contagious and these kids wanted more than anything to have what we have with Him? What if we spent time helping them to realize that, even if abortion is legal, it's wrong? And better yet, what if we spent time helping them to tell the difference between a good relationship and an ungodly one, helping them to realize that, besides pregnancy, there are MANY consequences of sex outside of marriage. The possibility of pregnancy is just one of a host of issues that comes along with doing things in the wrong order, and even perfect protection from pregnancy couldn't protect them from these terrible effects. We also need to teach them that there are MANY rewards and good reasons to save themselves for the one they will marry... and that it really is totally worth the wait. What if we didn't wait for these young people to "figure it out" on their own, and we actually cared enough about them to tell them "no" sometimes, even if they didn't like us very much for a while?

All of those same things apply to college students and grown adults. Even if we don't have the authority to tell them "no", we can take an opportunity to speak the truth to them and lovingly, but firmly, say something they may not want to hear. After all, while the majority of abortions are chosen by young people, there are plenty of adults who make the same choice for themselves.

This is no small battle, and it seems like we're fighting on an uphill slope that keeps getting steeper. Yet, we're not left without hope!

Let's say that each of us took seriously our responsibility to love people well and to proactively work to prevent bad relationships, inappropriate and unhelpful sexual behavior, and untimely pregnancy. What if we were able to help encourage men, women, boys, and girls in their walks with the Lord so that they were positively motivated by the right things? I wonder how many abortions would be prevented then?

And what if some of us were able to dedicate ourselves to serving and loving men, women, boys, and girls in the event that they do end up conceiving a child that they aren't sure they're ready for, in a crisis pregnancy center setting or not? I wonder how many abortions would be prevented then?

It is my encouragement to every person to study what it means to live life in a way that honors the Lord. Find out what it means to fulfill your God-given role as a man or woman. Find out what God says you should look for in a relationship or how He says you should carry out your relationship if you're already in one. Then be committed to that. Commit yourself to sharing that with others and pouring yourself into the next generation of young people who are making tough decisions every day. You will not only be preventing the death of unborn children, but you will be giving life to those who are already walking around outside the womb!