Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Prolife Church?

Posted by Mandy at 1:52 PM
Today I have had a mixture of joy and a mixture of sadness as I see Facebook swamped with prolife messages.. apparently it's prolife "day"... sorry, I'm not sure of the exact title.

Pastor's braved up in many churches today and spoke prolife messages. People likely churned in their seats... some wanting to stand up and applaud, some wanting to hide, some seething in anger. Abortion is one of those topics... few things stir people up like that word.

I have always been pro-life, and I would hope my actual life would show that. From a teen mom that chose life to a mom that now takes in children with no where else to go... I guess you could say we're a pro-life family.

Being "in the trenches" as it would be, I find myself increasingly frustrated with the church. Not my church.. not your church.. but the church as in "us."

We beat our Bibles and blog and Facebook and yell from picket lines that "abortion is a sin!" "It's MURDER!" "You'll go to hell!" "It's a CHILD not a CHOICE!"

Do I believe abortion is a sin? Yes. Do I believe an unborn baby is a "real" baby? Absolutely. Do I believe this method of screaming is helpful at all? No.

The people that already are pro-life will rally around you.. they'll comment on your blog posts and say "here here!" and they'll like your status updates... so will I. ;) The truth is... it doesn't change anything. Why? Because that's the truth.. words can be powerful, they can call us to action.. but without action.. NOTHING ever changes.

Most studies I've found say 1 in 50 children in America are homeless. IN AMERICA. In 2008 one study said there were 123,000 orphans IN AMERICA. Let's not forget how many more children in other countries are without food, shelter, and families. Living alone.... dying of starvation. Dying of AIDS. Dying from dehydration and illness. Suffering horrendously because someone chose life...

The sad truth is, for many people, there are worse things than death. I know this won't be a popular statement... I'm prepared for that, but until we as Christians stop telling everyone how prolife we are, and start LIVING how prolife we are... then there will always be abortion. There will always be unloved and unwanted babies ending up in dumpsters. There will always be children that spend years and years in foster care, never being adopted. How does a child age out of the system? How does an infant come into foster care IN AMERICA and never get adopted? How can we scream how much we LOVE children.. how MEANINGFUL their lives are to us and "should be to others" when we do NOTHING. Nothing. nothing.

I pray that today this prolife message will hit someone. I pray it will open someone's eyes. Being prolife isn't a political position. It isn't an emotion. It isn't a belief. It's a way of life. How can your life SHOW you support unborn babies, their struggling mothers, and their hopeless situation? There are ways that don't include fostering or adopting... but you have to find them.

Are you really prolife? Show it.

4 comments:

Whitney on Sunday, 23 January, 2011 said...

I really appreciate your comments because they are always thoughtful, considerate and heartfelt. I also know that you and your family earnestly live out your beliefs. It is hard for me, as a dedicated "pro-choice" Christian, to assert and defend my beliefs in conversation that can become little more than hate-filled and cliched rhetoric. So I especially appreciate your presence, and your willingness to engage the topic because I feel like you utilize the values of humility and Christian charity as well as passion within the conversation - which we all need to do.

Amy Snow on Thursday, 03 February, 2011 said...

I don't have any real advice to give you, but some of the things you do are similar to what we do in our large family. Good luck!

Sarah on Monday, 07 February, 2011 said...

I just came across your blog today and I have to say... omg, I LOVE it! I especially appreciate the honest place that this post came from. I'm frustrated where we are as a church as well... especially when my friends who are non-believers want to "lump me in" with the people who stand on their soapbox and scream without any real action to LOVE people. I'm homeschooling my 4 kids and this month leading up to Valentine's Day we've been memorizing I Cor. 13. My goal is the teach my children that love is an action verb. We don't "love" people by sitting around and feeling warm fuzzy feelings about them... we actually LOVE them with our lives and the way we treat them. Women making the choice to get an abortion are not skipping on their way into or OUT OF the doctor's office where the procedure is done. I would call myself "Prolife" as well... but I'd rather love the woman who's found herself in the position where that choice seems like the best option than holler at her from the corner... or worse, just facelessly post it on facebook.
Thanks for that authentic kind of love... the kind that sees there are reasons behind people's painful choices. That spoke to my heart a LOT.

JoAnna said...

Have you heard of The CALL? Its a Christian Non-Profit that exists to link DHS to the local church body... recruiting, training & supporting Christian foster and/or adoptive parents. www.thecallinarkansas.org

I wholeheartedly agree with you!! It is TIME that we all step up and be DOERS as well as hearers of God's word. The CALL is an awesome way to get churches/ believers involved if inside the state. The website even has some good advice for anyone looking to help out! :)

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