Roe v Wade is gone. If abortion is ever made the national policy of the United States again it will not be called “Roe v Wade.” It will go by some other name. It will take on some other form. It will demand new concessions. It will insist upon new so-called freedoms. Roe v Wade is gone.
The desire by some to have abortion on demand is alive and well.
There is much to say about the end of Roe v Wade, but I want to focus on the Christian response to this ruling. We cannot control how other people react, what other people say, or the things other people think. All we can do is strive to let our words and deeds match those of the Master.
With that in mind, I have some things to say.
You can read the first entry in this three-part series HERE, which was directed to those whose first response is to raise a picket sign in one hand and a Molotov cocktail in the other.
You can read the second entry in the series HERE, which was directed at those who believe it is their right to terminate their pregnancies for any reason.
Finally, TO THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT, I say…
Don’t stop.
And I don’t just mean don’t stop because there are still states that will codify abortion allowances into law, and I don’t just mean don’t stop because there are still plenty of people who believe the SCOTUS decision was wrong and that abortion should be available on demand, whether that’s first trimester or late-third.
I mean don’t stop with abortion.
Don’t wipe the dust off your hands, declare a job well done, and go about your day. Don’t walk away from this feeling victorious while there are unexpectedly pregnant mothers popping up every day. Don’t ignore the fact that there are pregnant mothers out there who can barely afford to care for themselves, who have been raised by a culture that has, for a generation (or more), viewed abortion as a perfectly acceptable and legal “burden reliever.”
Abortion should not be viewed as a way to lessen the load. The church should be that (Galatians 6).
I say again: THE CHURCH SHOULD BE THAT!
As crass as it is to think of it in this way, the fact is, for 50 years abortion has solved a problem in the eyes of many. Now, with this ruling, there’s a large, gaping void in our society. Our modern culture is going to feel like it’s without the means to solve the “problem” of having a child that a parent is not equipped or prepared to care for. Therefore it is up to us as God’s people to fill that void. Quite frankly, we should have been doing that anyway. Too many on our side have been too busy only talking about abortion and ignoring the quality of life that will come after birth.
This is where the church is so vital to society. Yes, I know, religion is growing increasingly marginalized in the secular, atheistic world. So what? They can arrest us, outlaw us, silence us if they want, but until they do we should be feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and giving shelter to the destitute. That pregnant girl who comes to services needing help needs help, not shame. She needs Christ, not chastisement. She needs the Gospel, not an abortion.
For almost fifty years our prayer was that Roe v Wade would be overturned. Now it is. Now what do we pray?
We should pray that the adoption process becomes easier, swifter, and more culturally acceptable. We should pray that people turn to Christ for the forgiveness of sins. We should pray that people turn to Christians for help in this world.
Don’t stop with abortion. Being pro-life means the whole life, from beginning to end. Jesus was pro-life. He’s the maker of life. Despite how much sin and wickedness made life in this world an ugly thing, He was still pro-life enough to die to save us. He still saw the potential in life, and the value in life, whether that life was a month in the womb or a century in the world. Let’s be pro-life the way He was, and look for ways to help all people of all ages.
~Matthew