WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO LIFE?

 It was a biting cold January day in 1981.  Mike and I were new Christians, having both prayed within months of one another.  So together we were considering big chunks of truth with new eyes.  It was the "Sanctity of Life" week and we were seeing what Scripture had to say about the question "is it a fetus or a baby?".

Our church challenged us to defend the unborn by marching in something called the March for Life.  It was a way to highlight a moral (not political) issue by marching down Capitol Avenue to the steps of our state capitol.  That seemed like a small way to help the helpless.

But for some reason, as we drove downtown that day, our mustard-seed faith shriveled.  We had not done such a thing before and we didn't know what it would be like.  What had we gotten into?  We did not see any traffic...but of course it WAS Sunday and it WAS spitting snow with a howling wind.  We began to think "Great.  We came all the way down here for nothing when we could be home by the fireplace."  I can remember Mike parking and us buttoning up to get out of the car, thinking how crazy it was because common sense wouldn't let our kids come out in weather like that.  We walked a couple of blocks and turned the corner to where the march was to start.  All of a sudden, we heard people and laughing and saw a huge crowd!  It was like we went from seeing no one (and feeling like fools) to being in the midst of thousands of people.  Many were friends.  Our faith soared!

That day was one of my favorite memories as the Lord built our confidence in Him.  Even though we had shifted our feet about going, it was another step for us as we learned to walk our talk.  Over the years we lived in Little Rock, we marched several times and after that first time, we took Beth and Brad with us.  It was a caravan of families pushing strollers and people carrying signs and bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace" and speeches and prayers.  Back in the 80's the march was new (having begun in '78) and there were camera crews with microphones and large turnouts (even 40K) and a few unpleasant hecklers with their signs along the way.  But two days ago, the 2011 march had 5K and was heckler-free and the press gave it a one picture article.  I guess after covering it 33 times, the angles had all been used. 

God knows the answer to the key question of this emotional issue.  He has not granted to science conclusive proof one way or the other.  One side says FETUS and approaches the controversy as an issue of rights.  One side says BABY and (speaking for myself) came to that conclusion out of Scripture study and the resulting moral conviction.  Considering the stakes, if I were teetering on which way to side, it might seem logical to err on the side of caution.  If you would like to check out this link, it is to a beautiful presentation called "The Miracle of Life".   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APkV40vUhWs

In the last few years, photography has just taken our breath away as we are able now to see into the dark depths of the womb.  You have probably seen this shot that was taken after a surgeon completed repairs inside a uterus and this little hand flopped back out.

And isn't this belly sweet?

This child's picture was made at 20 weeks after conception.  Amazing!

And 11 weeks after conception...

And after only 8 weeks from conception...

Last week an abortion doctor was arrested in Philadelphia and charged with murder.  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/01/19/philly-doctor-facing-8-counts-of-murder/     Police found sickening things in the office, including a floor covered with blood and cat urine.  The inspection for licensing his gruesome business had not happened in years...even after many complaints.  It would be speculative to guess why, but it is true that many patients of Dr. Kermit Gosnell were poor and immigrant women.  No wonder we read over and over of God's heart for the poor as He calls us to come to the defense of those who cannot help themselves.  Surely the Lord must have been thinking about just such a hell hole.

There is another thing that the Bible makes clear.  It speaks of the end times when people will love only themselves and their money...they will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God...considering nothing as sacred (2 Timothy 3.2).  That verse came to mind as I watched this doctor's smiling face as his mouth mocked the charges against him.

In both Genesis and Revelation we read of spilled blood CRYING OUT from the ground for retribution.  Surely the innocents who died in Dr. Gosnell's "office" are deaths that the Lord will avenge.  Unfortunately, the judgment on our country for the many lives lost will be a judgment on the nation as a whole.  We are in this together, and together especially now that our taxpayer money is funding abortions.  We need to be begging the Lord for mercy.

"Your mercy, O Lord, extends to the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.  Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea...how precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings...for You are the One who gives and sustains life."