Mercy
I don’t really know what to say. I’m very sobered by what I’m supposed to write about today so I apologize in advance: I just did a little research into it and I have a slight headache and upset stomach. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around the fact that according to the World Health Organization, forty to fifty million unborn babies are murdered every year! That’s 125,000 babies every stinkin’ day! Planned Parenthood, who is supposedly trying to help women, performed 345,672 abortions in the U.S. (last fiscal year). They only helped 1,880 women give their babies up for adoption. That’s one adoption for every 174 abortions! If you have any doubt about the fact that PP is about aborting babies, check out the redemptive true-to-life movie, “Unplanned”. If I’m being totally honest, I can kind of understand why some would resort to violence against abortion clinics. I am so disgusted right now. How did our world come to this? How did our country come to this? What is so magical about a birth canal that in just a few moments it can transform a “fetus” with no value or rights into a precious little child?? It’s a rhetorical question.
I know I have to stop. Being angry is not the answer but I just needed to be real with you. So what is the answer? The answer is not a what, but a who: Jesus. After all, it’s Jesus who creates, loves, and welcomes forty to fifty million unborn children into His perfect presence every year! It’s Jesus that creates, loves, and calls even the worst of sinners (including you, me, and abortion doctors) to receive mercy! And it’s Jesus who calls us to be His agents of mercy in this very broken world. Through His Word, Jesus tells us what to do. For instance, in Proverbs 31:8-9, we are told to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” This would certainly encourage speaking up for the unborn, but it would also apply to their mothers. As would the following verse, “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed.” Psalm 82:3
We have a job to do and it’s not to sit around crying about how bad our world is. It’s not to be angry and hateful about sinners doing sinful things. We are to be proactive about many things and one of those things is “speaking up”, “defending”, and “upholding” those who cannot speak for themselves. In other words, the vulnerable. Who is more vulnerable than pregnant women who feel they have no choice but to abort their child? Thankfully, unlike PP, there truly are organizations whose sole mission is to help these women and unborn children. EBC partners with Options 360 because this Christian organization states that “We believe that every life has a purpose and every life deserves a chance. We want the women who come to us to get informed, know their options and make the right choice.”
Let’s support the massively important work of Options 360. One of the ways you can do this right now is by helping us raise funds through their “baby bottle campaign”. And I’d encourage you to ask the “Lord of Mercy” how He might want you to get involved more tangibly in mercy ministries in our community.
Pastor Matt
