Tuesday, April 16, 2013

On Gosnell, the Christian, and Children

You've probably heard about Kermit Gosnell and the babies he killed and the women whose lives he ravished.  But you may not have; apparently, the media doesn't want to cover the horrific story.

You may have heard that Christians don't believe in abortion.  It's true.  God hates abortion.  But you may not have actually heard your Christian friends talk about it.  You may have heard your Christian friends complain and fail to see life - their life, your life, their children's lives, your children's lives - as a gift.  A real, amazing, thanks-inducing gift to a real, amazing, thanks-producing God.

Ann Voskamp, in her take on Gosnell, says this:
"For Christ followers, it’s more than being pro-choice and pro-life — it’s about always being pro-the-least-of-these.
The abortion debate draws women and children as unexpected enemies; the Gospel defends both as unexpectedly vulnerable.
The abortion debate offers that a woman is ultimately responsible alone for her child; the Gospel offers that no woman is ever alone and the Body of Christ is response-able to both woman and child.
The abortion debate is not so much about how we can somehow change the law, but right now change how we love. To have credibility in lobbying for laws against the abortion of babies, we must have the dependability of opening our doors for the welcoming of children.
 If the compassion of the world is “We do not want unwanted children born into the world,” then the compassion of the Gospel has to be far more powerful. The compassion of Christ-followers needs to literally and practically and sacrificially be: “We do want all the children born into this world.” 
If we are truly pro-the-least-of-these: How does each and every Christian live in a way that witnesses to wanting all children, to welcoming all children, to wrapping around all children?
And how do we value the worth of every single woman?"
So to you, dear Christian, you who agree that this whole Gosnell mess is horrific: how are you proclaiming the truth, the antithesis of Gosnell's message?  Are you acting like you want all the children born into this world?  Are you acting like your own children are a gift?  Are you acting like the children in your local church are a gift?  Are you embracing the least of these?

And to you who see abortion as a necessary evil: may you find a Christian who so values your life that you begin to see all lives as a gift from a good God.

And to myself: how can I welcome all children, wrap around all children, love them?  How, tomorrow, can I treat my own children as gifts?  {thankful for grace...}

4.16.2013