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It is my honor to have my friend Laura Allred share on the blog today. She is an advocate for life and leads a ministry that stands for the unborn. My friend is a mighty warrior, and I just love her passion, conviction and most of all, her deep love for others. Today she shares the biblical reasons why abortion is wrong and how our generation can take a compassionate stand. –Marian Jordan Ellis
Currently, there’s much discussion on the issue of abortion in our nation. Before I continue, I want to speak to those who have had an abortion––this is not meant to heap any condemnation on you. As I have traveled the world speaking, I have encountered hundreds of post-abortive women are being healed from this wound in their lives, and I love them dearly. Some of the strongest voices I know in the pro-life movement are those who have an abortion as part of their story. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to please read Marian’s recent entry on Healing After Abortion.
As believers, we know what our position on abortion should be, but often we don’t have a clear understanding as to why. For most, all we have ever known in is abortion legalized. As a result, we can have a hard time even imagining that there could be any other way.
I have considered myself pro-life since I was a young girl and knew abortion was wrong, but it wasn’t until I had a clear, biblical understanding that I moved from simply being one who would vote for pro-life candidates to one who would obey the call to advance the cause of life in our nation.
I vividly recall one specific moment as I knelt in prayer; my heart pierced with the intense grief that God carries over abortion. Just as I would ache if anyone that I loved were in pain, I began to weep with this awareness that The One whom I loved with all my life bore the deep heartbreak of every one of the millions of lives lost before its time.
As I grew in biblical understanding, it catapulted me into action, passed the pressure of the political correctness. As followers of Jesus, our love and allegiance to Him often demands us to go against the grain of current pop culture pressures. This is one of those issues.
To my delight, our generation is the first in a long time to have the majority agreeing that abortion is morally wrong. But do we know why? Is this just a conservative vs. liberal issue? Or is there a scriptural basis that would make a demand on us to contend against it? Let’s put politics aside and look at the issue of abortion from a biblical perspective to see what we can learn. Here are a few principles we need to understand:
1. THE ANCIENT BATTLE: GOOD VS. EVIL, LIFE VS. DEATH
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
Almost no other scripture paints the contrast so clearly as this one. Though abortion in America has been legal for 42 years, the spirit behind it has been around since the beginning of time. This is not a new battle. We, every human with breath and those in the womb, are created in the glorious image of God (Gen 1:26-28) for the purpose of worship and relationship with The One in whose likeness we are made.
The enemy, who hates God and comes to steal, kill and destroy, would undoubtedly hate anyone created in God’s image. Why? Because to Satan, every life is a dreadful reminder of Creator God…His supreme authority and the glory that the Lord receives from each life and creation. From the beginning of time, “LIFE” and all that it represents has been despised by Satan. Through abortion, Satan has waged war against those who are yet to be born that they may never take a breath that would offer worship to God. It is all about worship!
2. INNOCENT BLOOD SHED FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
“The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10
This is the first time in the scripture we see a life taken by another man. Cain killed his brother Abel for selfish gain. In this verse, we learn that blood actually has a voice, and it was crying out from the ground to God for justice. Whoa! Think about that in relation to abortion. What do the voices of 58 million babies, mostly taken for the sake of selfish gain and the American dream, sound like crying out from the ground to God for justice?
I know that can seem harsh, but it is the reality of where our nation is. 98% of the women who choose abortion in America do so for the sake of convenience, not for medical reasons. As we look further to a just a few of the other mentions of bloodshed in the Bible (Genesis 9:5-6, Ezekiel 35:6, Numbers 35:33, Luke 11:47-50, Matthew 23:29-35), we get the very clear picture that The Lord despises innocent bloodshed and is not willing to turn a blind eye to it without giving an answer.
3. HOW NATURAL LAWS OVER NATIONS AFFECT US SPIRITUALLY
I am not naive enough to believe that there will never be women who want to have abortions in our country, but I do long for the day when it is not sanctioned with a stamp of approval by our government. The Lord holds nations accountable for injustices.
King David, though not a perfect man, was in tune with God’s heart and one of Israel’s best rulers. In 2 Samuel 21, David asked the Lord why there was a severe famine for three years. God’s answer was, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” (2 Samuel 21:1) An appropriate and humble response, King David asked the Gibeonites for forgiveness and made restitution.
Abraham Lincoln was also aware of what the scriptures said on this principle. In his second inaugural address, he emphasized that the 600,000 men died in battle during the Civil War and saw this as a judgment against our nation for the sin of slavery and innocent bloodshed of thousands of slaves. “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray that this scourge of war may speedily pass away, but if God wills that it continues till every drop of blood drawn by the lash must be repaid drawn by the sword let it be said that the judgments of the Lord are righteous and true all together.”
How will our nation answer for 58 million babies who have been taken through abortion? The Lord is not going to hold us accountable because He is an angry God; rather, because He so highly values humanity, He protects it with His severe jealousy.
THE LORD WANTS TO PARTNER WITH US TO HELP BRING THE SOLUTION
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10
I love that Jesus gave us this beautiful example of how to pray. The good news is that the Lord loves to partner with His kids to bring His Kingdom to the earth! If you have a yes in your heart to be a voice, He will give you a strategy, and prayer is a good place to start. In my 16 years of being a part of the pro-life movement, I have not seen anything like the stirring and awakening happening right now. A tidal-wave of life is sweeping over our nation, and it is only getting stronger! And dear sister, who better to stand for life than young women? We, after all, are the specific demographic that is in the middle of this debate with the highest percentages of abortions. How about we, young women, empowered with Holy Spirit truth coalesce around life and allow the Lord give us strategy just as he did David, Gideon and Queen Esther? I believe, as young women, we should take the lead on this issue in our nation.
So you have a “yes” in your heart to carry this burden with the Lord and be a defender of life but where do you start? Here are a few options to pursue as you stand.
Volunteer at your local Crisis Pregnancy Center: Pregnancy Centers offer a wonderful alternative to abortion centers. Many give free ultrasound, prenatal care, counseling connections to other ministries who can help mothers in need and so much more! Most are always in need of volunteers and are grateful for help.
Join (or start) a prayer group: Prayer changes things. I began gathering young women to pray with me for two hours, once a month at our city’s largest late-term abortion clinic. Each month we grew in number with over 30 young women, standing in silent prayer. Ultimately being faithful in what seemed to be the “small” led to 39 young women embarking on 21 day, 250 mile prayer journey that captured the heart of many around the nation and rallied literally thousands in prayer over the issue of abortion. You can see a bit of our historic journey here.
If you want to start a join or start a prayer group, Bound 4 Life is a great pro-life prayer ministry to link up with!
Contact Your Politicians: Emailing and calling your local and federal representatives is SO critical and effective! They listen. Right now there are several bills in the house that restrict funding for abortion providers. All you have to do call or email them and let them know that you are a pro-life constituent who wants to be represented through their actions. It takes just a few minutes, and it goes a long way!
Find out who your federal representatives are here:
Support a single mom: A few years ago, I met a young woman who had two sons. She nearly aborted her second baby but missed her appointment and saw it as a sign from God to keep her baby. She was hearing impaired, a student and struggling to provide for her two boys. We gathered around this brave young woman and showed her how proud of her we were for keeping her baby by buying toys for her boys and giving her monthly monetary help for an extended period. I believe that it is wrong to say to young women “don’t abort your baby” but then leave them on their own to fin for themselves. That is not what Jesus would do.
Support Adoption: The pro-life movement needs not only to be known for what we are against but also, more so, what we are for, and we are very much for adoption!
If you are not in a place to adopt, consider helping to raise money and fund a Christian couple to adopt. Our mentoring group comprised of young single women not ready to adopt helped to raise money on two separate occasions for families who were adopting babies. Both of these families were believers that understand the impact of domestic adoption as an answer to abortion. The precious babies adopted statistically would have otherwise been aborted. Thanks to social media, I have the pleasure of watching both of these little ones, now 6 and 4 grow up. Every time their sweet faces pop up on my newsfeed I know that is a part of my spiritual fruit. Oh, the joy!
All that you do, whether you feel it is big or small, makes a difference. The key is- do something! Anything! But don’t be silent. A God adventure awaits and your legacy will be great!
