Thursday I’m off on my annual pilgrimage to D.C. for the March for Life. It’s always great to gather with folks from across the country who believe that all human life is sacred, and that every person – born and unborn – is created in the image of God.
Friends, if you will allow me to share my pastoral experience for just a moment, I’ll let you in on a little-known secret: Unplanned pregnancy can be the richest soil for unplanned grace.
I’m talking about God’s grace, as well as the grace of others. Both expressions of divine love can erupt in the strangest of circumstances – including an unplanned pregnancy – if we will have eyes to see. And I’m convinced that those eyes that we need start deep within our heart (Matthew 6:21-23; Ephesians 1:18).
I’ve learned this: There are accidental parents, but there are absolutely no accidental children. Even when a baby isn’t “planned” by its parents, there are no such surprises for God. Surprised people can find unplanned grace in the midst of the scariness of unplanned pregnancy – even in the most tragic circumstances – but we miss those remarkable blessings unless we look to God to do what only God can do.
Over the years, I’ve talked with a number of women who at some point in their past had made the decision to seek an abortion. Several key themes dominated their stories …
“I thought I was all alone.”
“I thought I had no other options.”
“I was so afraid that I couldn’t think straight.”
When frightened people find themselves there, we must care about these hard realities and the image bearers of God – parents and babies – who are facing them. No one is helped by our dismissive responses or lifeless platitudes. When it comes to the people in our orbit who are hurting and struggling, you and I are to love incarnationally – the way of Jesus – by choosing the hard road of entering into their difficulty and pain. Once we’re there with them – shouldering the burden alongside them – then and only then can we offer them real help and real hope.
The Bible challenges each of us: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Friends, when you think about the high calling that’s ours in Christ to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), it can feel overwhelming – especially when the stakes are so high as in matters of life and death. When our neighbors are under the crushing weight of what feel like life’s toughest pressures – in the form of the life-altering decisions which seem to be swallowing them whole – that’s when our gracious presence, witness, prayer, and ministry matter most. It’s a great responsibility to speak the truth and to love at the same time – and one we can’t pull off in human strength.
But you and I are called to lay aside our comfort for the comfort of others. Our marching orders are these: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).
Genuine compassion comforts troubled hearts, and you and I are the ambassadors on call. From Christ’s story of the Good Samaritan, I must remember that my “neighbor” is anyone who needs me. Yes, Lord. In the context of an unplanned pregnancy, especially, judging and shaming only fuel the trauma that’s already being felt.
To be pro-life is to be pro-person. You and I are the pro-people people! We can’t forget that. We’re for moms and dads, sisters and brothers, young and old, poor and rich – you name it. We’re pro-life and pro-people. Whatever the category, our call is to love. We want all people to thrive.
To thrive in Christ.
We’re called to love those facing an unplanned pregnancy, and to love those facing the regret – another real trauma – of an abortion. We all need the Sovereign Lord to enlarge our heart, as everyone needs to experience the lavish love of God. I’m so glad that God’s lavish love includes God’s lavish forgiveness.
Such undeserved grace is to be our heart posture toward others as well: “Forgive and comfort” (2 Corinthians 2:7).
If you don’t consider yourself to be “pro-life,” perhaps we can simply agree that every person has dignity and worth. It’s a place to start, at least, and such a shared acknowledgment creates an atmosphere in which dialogue and goodwill can be extended in every direction.
From my heart, friends, I reach out to you and share these things in the love of Jesus.
Pastor Charles
Leave a Reply