My Reflections

God hates sin but loves the sinner

Prompt:
Do you believe it is right or wrong for a woman to get an abortion? Why or why not?

Answer:
This can be a tough subject for some. Sometimes it is necessary for us to discuss controversial issues. As Christians we need to learn how to do so while exhibiting and sharing the love of Christ. This is true rather we are discussing abortion, LBGT rights, critical race theory, receiving vaccines, civil rights, etc...

Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and as writers, in the power of our pen or keyboard. We must not be careless with our words, but we should also not be afraid to discuss difficult topics. We need to have boldness in Christ, but keep our feelings and attitude in check. Someone’s soul could depend on it.

Having said that, I believe abortion is wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right even in the case of a rape. However, this can be a difficult thing to process and to deal with. I will explain my position here as gently as possible. I too have been raped. Being the person I am, I believe I would give the baby up for adoption, but that is me. I understand not everyone will agree with me or react in the same way. That's ok. Let me tell you my reasoning.

Before I do, I will also say I have know of a mother who had 3 other kids who had a very legit reason to consider abortion. She was in a position of have this 4th baby and possibly die or abort it and get medical treatment to live. Now if you are a single mother in that position, what is the lesser of the two evils? Life and sin is not always black and white. There are many shades of gray. This is another reason we can not be righteous on our own. We have to be able to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance as we maintain a close and intimate relationship with God. It is so easy to point our fingers at someone else to shame them.

Let me give some Scriptures that helped me to arrive at my conclusion. There is a belief that a fetus isn’t a human or a living soul. First of all, if it wasn't living, why does it have to be killed? Then there is Psalms 139.

Psalms 139:13-16
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

If it is God, and I could give several other Scriptures as examples of this, who is the one that determines life and death and he is the one who forms us in our mother's womb, He has a specific plan and purpose in causing a woman to conceive. None of us happened by a mistake. We may have surprised our parents but we were no surprise to God.

When Elizabeth went to greet Mary after she had conceived Jesus, John the Baptist leaped in the womb as a babe. (Luke 1:41-44) Also in the book of Ezekiel, it talks about Israel being cast out like an aborted baby. God saw him in his blood, picked him up, cleaned him off, and gave him every good thing, but Israel had rejected God. I mention this because I think it shows a glimpse at God's heart toward the unborn.

I believe it is a life from the moment of conception. What would have happened if Mary decided to abort Jesus because he wasn't a completely formed human baby yet, before Elizabeth met her at about the 3rd month of pregnancy? Was Jesus any less Jesus when he was just a fetus? This is something to think about.

Yesterday, I was doing research into the religious objections to receive the vaccine for COVID. I was writing an editorial for my rising star assignment. I discovered something that was disturbing to me. I found out that in the development of the vaccines cells from an aborted baby in the 1970s or 1980s was used in the core component. Wow! I had no idea. I even got the vaccine myself and was all for it. Now I am not sure what to think. On the other hand, We could say God is using the abortion of a child 40 or 50 years ago to save millions of people now through a vaccine. However, is it wrong to benefit from what you believe is a sin? Ouch! Talk about a big shade of gray!

Now I have to re-evaluate how I feel about the vaccine. I feel torn because so many lives are now in the balance. I still believe abortion is wrong. This is something I really need to pray about.