Why I Am Pro-Life

Earlier this week a good friend of mine posted a "guest post" that I wrote about being "Completely Pro-Life." She has asked various friends and bloggers to write about what it means to be pro-life in every stage of life. I chose to write about being an advocate for life in the womb.

On a side-note, I really value Amanda's blog. She and I were both writing majors together in college, so we have been reading each other's thoughts for a while now. Her thoughts keep getting better, in my opinion. She has a gift for writing compelling stuff. It makes me think. It makes me pray. And it makes me ask God to equip me to be a better and more fruitful wife and keeper of my home.

Back to my post. We tend to think of the pro-life issue in terms of political parties. But it is more than that. So much more. Here is a preview of my post:

In many ways, the abortion issue can cause us to feel weary. The statistics can spur hopelessness. The constant barrage of anger, bitterness, and hateful banter can make it seem like a pointless cause. But in the midst of it all those numbers are souls that once lived in bodies—little image bearers of our Creator. Being pro-life is not about politics. It is about the Gospel.

As Christians we of all people should be the most concerned about life in every stage, especially in the helpless stage of the womb. But why should we care? From the beginning of time we understand that God created men and women equally in his image (Gen. 1:27). People bear the image of their Creator—God. This is staggering. Every soul lost through abortion is an image bearer of the King. But to take this even further, Christians are to also care about the least defended, the least protected, and the helpless. Who is more helpless than a 10-week old baby nestled not-so-safely in the womb of a mother who is determined to kill it?

In the post, I talk about being pro-life means being pro-mom. As we think about Mother's Day, maybe God is stirring in your heart an increasing desire live out your pro-life convictions by being a blessing to a mother in need. It's just a thought. Either way, I hope you read the post and visit my friend's blog. And I pray that God makes us all more passionate about the cause of life.

You can read the rest of the post here.

Missions Wednesday: Poland

Many of us remember the recent plane crash that took the life of Poland’s President, First Lady, and many of the country’s leaders. Tragedy can often bring a country to attention that was not previously on our minds. Apart from the fact that my sister-in-law is Polish (a descendant of Polish immigrants), my knowledge pretty much ends there. So today’s country is Poland.

Poland’s population, as of 2000, was over 38 million people. While the country is considered 90% Christian, the majority of these numbers are Catholic. They are a country with rich history, having been in existence since the 10th century. During World War II they were occupied by both the Soviets and the Germans, losing 6 million Polish lives in the war (many of them Jewish Polish). Like the rest of Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the war, they were under communist government instituted by the Soviets until 1989.

Evangelical Christianity is still uncommon in Poland due to the heavy prominence of the Catholic Church, and most young people are skeptical of religion but open to hearing about Christ and his work. This is promising. But in the rise of a new government of capitalism and democracy, the desire for wealth and power has overtaken many of the younger generation—yet leaving them hollow. This has only increased immorality and crime among the Polish communities.

Ways to pray:

• There is a need for an evangelical presence among the Polish people. The Catholic Church is the predominant religion and people need to hear about the truth of Christ’s sufficient work for their sins. The Catholic Church has a considerable political influence among the Polish people.
  
• Pray that Polish evangelicals would feel a desire to spread the Gospel to their own countrymen.
  
• Pray for the growth of evangelical believers in Poland. They are a small minority and need encouragement to continue walking in the truth of the Gospel.
  
• Pray for the growing Christian literature movement. Pray that Christ-centered resources would be published and get into the hands of many Polish people.

Searching for Significance

Significance (noun): the quality of being important

We all want it. Deep in the core of our being we want our choices, our actions, our dreams and desires to count for something—to do something big. We want our lives to be important, to matter and make a difference. Very few people seek to live insignificant lives, right? The quest for significance is part of who we are. It is a God given desire. Often the question we must ask ourselves is where am I looking for my significance?

God created us to live very significant lives. And the drive for significance was given by Him to give us passion to do big things. But there is a twist. While the world would tell us that our quest for significance is fulfilled in the glory we gain for ourselves, God tells us that we are fulfilled only in the glory we gain for Him. Living within the plan God designed for us is the greatest source of fulfillment and pleasure because we are no longer grasping for a wish that can never satisfy. In fact, it can give us greater abandon to seek our dreams because we know that even if they are never met we still have the greatest satisfaction in Christ.

All of these realities convicted me greatly as I began thinking through my tendency towards over-commitment outside of the home. I realized that I had started to view helping my husband, cultivating a love for the home, and a servant-heart within the home as less significant than being on committees, going to events, and helping everyone else. Sadly, I viewed the amount of people viewing my “Christian” endeavors as more meaningful than obedience to my God-given task of helping my husband. Does this mean that we can never do things outside of our homes? Of course not! But it does mean that if we are deriving our fulfillment from things that are going to gain glory for us, then we will be overwhelmed and disappointed every time.

We were made to desire significance. Often the very things that God has given us to do don’t feel very significant: changing diapers, going to work every day, cooking a meal, cleaning a kitchen, wiping noses, or fill in whatever mundane task you are struggling with right now. We don’t often see what the outcome of the ordinary and seemingly insignificant will be until years down the road. But God sees. And he is pleased. He isn’t looking for the next flashy person to do great things in the world’s eyes. He is looking for people like us. People who feel like the normal things aren’t so significant. Oh, but they are. Obedience to our heavenly Father is significant. It shows a lost and dying world that God is so much better than anything else this world has to offer. And it gives us greater joy than any futile grasp for our own glory could ever bring.

Missions Wednesday: France

What countries come to your mind when you think about missions? Unfortunately, for me, I tend to think only about countries that are impoverished or heavily persecuted. I don’t usually think about countries that are similar to America in economic and cultural status. What I fail to realize is that God desires ALL nations to come to Christ, including ones that look like me. My problem is that I separate where I would like to visit from where I would like to minister. For me, Europe is where you go and vacation and all other areas are where you take Jesus. Terrible thinking, isn’t it?

Today’s country is France.

France, like much of the rest of the Europe, has become increasingly secular. The rise of Muslims moving into France has led some to believe that in the near future Mosques will outnumber churches. Even among native French people Christianity, and religion in general, is seen as irrelevant. This poses a tremendous challenge to the Gospel.

Ways to pray:

• According to Operation World, the “drop rate” for missionaries is very high. Pray that missionaries would feel called to go and that God would give them courage to stay in the midst of hard times.


• Occult workers outnumber Christian workers. Pray that God would raise up more Christian workers among the French people.


• Pray that God would open the eyes of the French people to see that Jesus is not simply about following religion, but he is the greatest treasure in the universe.

Up Close and Personal

It happens all of the time. A friend hurts our feelings. A pastor doesn’t understand us fully. A spouse lets us down. A teacher treats us like we are ignorant. A boss is short and demanding. We walk away thinking, “wow, he wasn’t as nice as I thought he would be.” And then disappointment sets in. Sometimes disappointment turns into bitterness or anger. We begin to resent the particular person for their failure towards us.

Suddenly we are the unwitting victim of our unmet expectations. But honestly, and I have seen this all too often in my own life, we are really expecting them to meet a need or fill a void that only Jesus can fill. We are all too often slaves of our own unrealistic expectations. It can happen to all of us.

What I have learned in my own life is that I have a tendency to put people on a pedestal—idolize them. I worship the very words that come from their mouths, think they can do no wrong, and then suddenly I am sorely disappointed when they act just like me—a sinner. This is not to say that sin should be condoned or allowed, it just means that everyone is pretty ugly once you get to know them. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23), even the people we admire most. If we kept them at a safe distance they could not disappoint us, but that is not what God calls us to.

He calls us to live in a community. Not a perfect one, by any means, but a community, regardless of our sanctification process. For some of us it means that we will have to trust in God’s promise to complete the work he began (Philippians 1:6), for others it will mean we have to trust the confrontation from the people God has given us for our growth.

I remember the first time a friend really was honest with me about my need for growth. I hated it at first. But that only revealed my sin even more! It taught me something about the kindness of God. God has given me friends and family to convict me of my sin because he doesn’t want me to stay where I am. But he has also put me in a marriage, a family, and a church community because he wants me to not only be a recipient of his grace, but a means of his grace for others.

We can keep people at a safe distance if we want to, and we might not get hurt by their sin. But we will never grow if we do. We were meant to live within a community of God’s people, his family, blemishes and all.

It's so much easier to ridicule and inspect from a distance. But God wants us to get in the thick of it and get a little messy and scarred. It's what he did when he sent his Son. If Jesus had not come and dwelt among us, getting in the middle of all that we were, we would not be here. Sure, he could have observed from afar, but that would not have saved anyone. He became one of us, got personal with people, and died so that we might live. And that is our foundation for getting up close and personal with others.

Preserving My Time

Today has been a lazy day. And boy do I like it! About a month or two ago a dear friend encouraged me to examine my schedule and cut things out that took me away from my husband and my home. As she wisely observed, I had begun to fill my evenings, and even my Saturday's, with a lot of other things that had very little to do with my husband. I had assumed that since he was studying I could just do whatever I wanted. He didn't need me around, right? Well, what happened was these other "things" became overwhelming. Suddenly, I wasn't just away from home too much, but I was exhausted and moody when I was home. Not good.

My friend encouraged me to learn to appreciate my time at home. She encouraged me to do little things to help my husband as he studied and worked: make him cookies, clean the house, grocery shop in the evening so we have weekends together, just be there. My home should be a resting place for my husband and it's not very restful if I am devoting my time to everything but that pursuit!

So I started trying to preserve my time. And it was not easy! I am a chronic over-committer. I get myself way too involved in things and then realize that I don't have time when it is too late. Right now, I am winding down my commitments and hoping that the next few months can be a better use of my time for my husband.

Today was a first. I had nothing on the calendar! We slept in, ate breakfast together (Daniel cooked!), I read for a good, long time in my pajamas, cleaned the kitchen, and am now about to make dinner. We had a nice walk planned, but the rain ruined it. It just felt so nice to not have to go anywhere or do anything.

That's where I'm at right now in my sanctification. I wish I was further, but I am so thankful for my friend's encouragement. I am also so thankful that God is not finished with me yet. He will continue to shape me and mold me into the wife that he wants me to be. Until the day I see his face, I will keep plugging along, praying that each year brings me closer into his likeness.

A Sad and Slippery Slope

A while ago I overhead a conversation about why someone would choose a church far away from where one lives. When asked, this particular person responded as follows:

“When I saw the church had a female pastor I knew that they would probably be more accepting of gay people like me.”

In a split second, and unbeknownst to him, he confirmed a conclusion that has been raging for a long time: a reversal of gender roles in the local church is a slippery slope to the reversal of believing God’s design for sexuality.

Often outsiders provide a clear window into a church culture that we fail to see because we are so immersed in it. My friend saw from the outside what so many of us fail to see on the inside. While I think it is a helpful commentary on what unbelievers think of the church, I think it says profound things about where our theology leads us. Denying that egalitarian beliefs provide a slippery slope to accepting homosexual behavior is merely postponing the inevitable.

But the issue is not about homosexuality at all, really. By the time a church moves into a reversal of gender and sexuality they typically have long given up the most important thing of all—submission to God’s authority over all things.

What I overheard that day is far more important than whether or not women can be pastors or homosexuality is a sin. And those are important things. It has to do with a church that is no longer living under the authority of God’s word. It has to do with a church that is no longer proclaiming the Gospel.

Sometimes the clearest arguments for our beliefs come in the most unlikely places. But this man’s belief is not a point to be argued. It is his life. Understanding God’s design for manhood and womanhood has tremendous implications for the souls of men and women. If a church abandons the truths of God’s word there, it will abandon God’s word in the most important places—namely the Gospel. The atoning work of Christ for sinners like us cannot be true in a church culture that denies the very essence of who we are created to be.

The loss of the Gospel in a local church has devastating ramifications for the souls of men and women in those congregations.