The fallen and spiritually deprived world that we live in is
not surprising; it is heartbreaking.
In the simplicity of childhood, I enjoyed the pure bliss of
ignorance. Maybe I can call it ignorance. I was young, and what mattered to me
most was the immediate; the here and now… And maybe one hour into the future. (Even
though I was aware of these things) what was going on in the world… terrorism,
murder, abortion, rape, (the list goes on…) were not relevant to a child like
me. I remember very vividly the morning of 9/11. I woke up to get ready for school;
my mom had just come home from the gym and was glued to the news. I watched the
second tower fall. Right before my eyes I watched it, but I didn’t understand
it. I went to school where they had a mandatory “kid news” program they made us
watch that was supposed to explain this horrific event in more delicate and
simple way so we could understand it better, and I still didn’t. I thought, “okay…
some buildings fell down and a lot of people died, that’s really sad.”
It wasn’t until much later that I fully grasped the concept
of what was happening to our country… to the world. When I started hearing
words like “war” and “high jacking” I began to understand in my own little mind
that the world in which I lived was much bigger than what games I played, who I
hung out with, and what movie or TV program I watched. I began to hurt for the
lives that were lost, and worry about what would happen next.
I think I was a good child. I had a big heart and I cared
for people, but it was a challenge to expand my mind past what was going on
immediately around me. Once I did, my worldview changed. I was aware of
abortion, and kidnappings, and murder, etc. in ways I wasn’t before.
Over the last several years and the recent months, I have
followed the news on the topic of abortion. I have read the stories and seen
the videos. I have cried, and felt outraged. I have felt compassion, and hatred
-not for people, but for the act. Even though my husband and I aren’t currently
having children, we would welcome a child with more than open arms. My desire
to bear my own children is one of my deepest. That being said, my thoughts on abortion
are not based on my OWN desire to have babies. They are based on the Lord, on
scripture, on morals, on what’s right and what’s wrong.
Currently on the news, a man named Ariel Castro is accused
of holding 3 women captive in his home for a decade while sexually and
physically abusing them, impregnating them and in more cases than not, starving
and beating them to induce miscarriages. While this is sickening and disgusting
in more ways than one, I am also shocked that the news media is backing prosecutors
who are seeking the death penalty for Castro on charges of MURDER. Meaning that
the times he impregnated one of his victims, than brutally punched her in the
belly, starved her, and God knows what else just so she would miscarry, he was
murdering a child, a baby, a life. And that is apparently punishable by death,
in this case.
What about the woman who gets pregnant by her husband, the
man she loves, the man she wants to have children with… (just not yet)? She goes
into an abortion clinic where that baby inside of her, no further developed (or
maybe further) than that of one of Castro’s
victim’s children, is brutally torn apart, piece by piece, and suctioned out
with a vacuum to be thrown in the garbage? Is this not considered the same MURDER
that Castro is likely to be charged with because it occurs in a clean, clinical
setting? Who decides when killing a child is punishable by DEATH, and then the
next day just a regular trip to the doctor??
I really don’t have words to fully convey my sadness and
disgust with this system. Who, besides our God, has the authority to determine when and under what circumstances the SAME CRIME should be considered murder?
My soul aches for this fallen place; for this dark place. There
are a lot of things that should encourage Christians to be who you are called
to be and this is one of those things. We are lights! Only light can make the
darkness brighter.
I am also encouraged by the community of believers that
surround this issue, and many others. Where would our world be without them? I
encourage everyone to be more proactive in just showing the light of Jesus to
those around you. We don’t need to stand on street corners and protest; we don’t
even need to get in debates with those around us regarding these prevalent issues.
We need to LOVE, and LOVE everyone. We need to understand that someone who is
not following Jesus does not have the same way of thinking and CANNOT be
expected to. We are called to walk with others, to live life alongside people
who need the Lord, and to get on our knees and pray for them.
Why aren’t we doing this more? What better way is there to
make a difference than to live radically different? I pray we answer God’s call
even when the events of the day are so inconsistent, so ugly, and so dark.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my
mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your
works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of
the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were
written in your book before one of them came to be.
-Psalm 139:13-16
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is
good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s
people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who
mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to
associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay evil
with evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is
possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take
revenge my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It
is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
-Romans 12:9-18
xoxo
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