Seven days after the Women’s March on Jan. 21, 2017, there was a second march on Washington–the annual March for life.
During those seven days, I witnessed three groups of women:
1. Women who were protesting their right to have an abortion and do with their body what they want
2. Women who were protesting President Trump but who are pro-life and thus didn’t feel comfortable attending the Jan. 21 march.
3. Women who are passionately pro-life.
The aftermath of both marches has led to a lot of discussion that I feel has muddied the pro-life message.
One point in particular somehow didn’t sit right with me, and for days, I’ve pondered why.
Now I know why. And that is why I am writing this article.
I would like to start off by saying that this article in no way is meant to judge any of the three groups of women. This article, is, however, meant to tackle a difficult topic and hopefully shine a different light on our discussion of life, abortion and adoption.
And I feel this is important, because no matter how you feel about abortion, the cold, hard facts are that millions of women suffer deep psychological wounds stemming from a decision they made to end their pregnancy.
The point made that left me feeling off was this:
Pro-lifers are not truly pro-life if they are not willing to step up to the plate and adopt all of the thousands of babies that will be born to the women who would have otherwise aborted them.
In the end, I have concluded that the argument made here is as effective as trying to put a Band-aid on an amputation.
Although intentions may be sincere, the method to heal the wound is too simplistic.
There is a much deeper issue, a deeper problem in society that must be resolved, and when it is, the argument will be null and void.
And the resolution to the problem must start inside the four walls of the church.
What is the deeper problem?
The church is no longer the standard-bearer for morality in society. There used to be a time when the church set the standard of morality, which was based on God’s Word.
There was a time when it was simply unacceptable that couple would engage in intimacy before marriage.
Now, however, not the church, but Hollywood, is the standard-bearer. And the church is not only content to let Hollywood set the standard for morality immorality, but, for the most part, it has bought into its doctrine.
Even in the church, it is odd to find a 20-something who has saved themselves for marriage.
Most youth group and singles’ group leaders admit that immorality is out of control in their churches. Some pastors have even given in to the narrative that it is impossible to reign in your hormones and resist the temptation to engage in intimacy.
And my question is this:
If the church refuses to be the standard-bearer for morality in society,
If we choose to watch the same movies filled with nudity and sex
If we choose to laugh at the same jokes
If we choose to use the same innuendos
If we choose to call the same actors and actresses “sexy”
If we choose to entertain ourselves with the same movies that mock the Bible, mock abstinence and mock Jesus Christ
If we choose to walk in the way of the wicked
Stand in the path of sinners
Sit in the seat of the scornful
Then what is our platform really all about?
Sin always muddies the message.
Our light has gone out, and we shouldn’t wonder why the world chooses to use abortion as another method of contraception.
Then we should wonder who is going to adopt all of those babies born to women walking in darkness—that great, great darkness—all because the light that was once within us has become darkness.
But, if we will be honest with ourselves for one blessed, holy moment, we will know that there are not enough pro-life families on planet Earth to contain the flow of babies born to women who would otherwise be ready to terminate their pregnancies.
So there must be another way.
There has to be another way.
And it’s not education, because our society has educated itself into ignorance.
It has to be a holy cry of revival in the church. It has to be a church that falls on its face in repentance because it has failed to see how its tolerance of immorality has deeply offended a holy God.
It has to be wailing at the altar of sorrow for light that was extinguished decades ago without any notice at all.
It has to be a cry for the consuming fire of God to incinerate the philosophy of the world.
And then there must be dedication.
Once sanctified again, the church must dedicate itself: not to educating, not to philosophical platitudes, not to self-help seminars—but to winning the lost.
She must lay aside her fear of “proselytizing” and become obedient to Christ’s command.
This—this is the only way abolishing abortion will ever work in our nation.
When men and women full of the Holy Spirit and power once again become the standard-bearers for morality in our society, fornication will not be the norm!
And as we begin shifting the narrative on morality in our society, society will once again begin to view life as sacred.
All life.
Life conceived unplanned
Life conceived through rape
Life conceived that has unique needs
Life that has run its race and still has a few miles to go
Life that has received a terminal diagnosis
That message will ring out crystal clear when it is not muddied by our own tolerance and immorality of sin. {eoa}
Rosilind Jukic, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her Bosnian hero. Together they live with their two active boys where she enjoys fruity candles, good coffee and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. Her passion for writing led her to author her best-selling book The Missional Handbook. At A Little R & R she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. You can also find her at Missional Call where she shares her passion for local and global missions. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.