Text: Exodus 20:13 – Life Observance Sunday
You shall not murder. —
In the name of Jesus: The first thing I want to share is this. Many of the thoughts you are going to hear are not my own. They come from Pastor Robert Fleishman, the director of Christian Life Resources. Check it out on the internet. It is a great resource for Christians trying to navigate through today’s world when it comes to the issues of life and death.
Forty one years ago. Two thirds of my lifetime. January 22. Do you know what I’m talking about? A day when a dark shadow came over our land. A day when judges in black robes set into motion the violent deaths of more than 55 million unborn children. Think about it. When you watch the Superbowl, know this. Last year the abortions in New York City could more than fill that stadium.
The world calls it choice, reproductive rights. But those rights end where another person’s life begins. That’s what we’re talking about here. Another person with a soul. A person in a place that should be the safest place on earth, his mother’s womb. The world calls it choice, reproductive rights. But those rights end when they violate the will of Him who gives life. And that will is this. You shall not murder.
Today I want to introduce you to three people. All three are real. Their stories are true. Their names have been changed to protect their identity. We begin with “Betsy” She wrote an article called this: I had an abortion (and I don’t regret it) She writes:
I had an abortion last month. It was probably the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make. I love children and I want to be a mother SO badly…I’m 21 years old, I don’t have a steady job or a car or my own house, my boyfriend and I have only been together for 6 months, my health is terrible, I’m a borderline alcoholic, yada yada yada. So really, bad time to have a baby. I am not a fan of adoption…if anyone’s going to mess up my kids, It’s going to be me! And given my health and drinking, it would have been likely that I and/or my child would have been seriously damaged by the pregnancy.
So the choice was clear. Abortion was the way to go. Even though deep down I knew that I just couldn’t have a child right now, it really hurt to admit it, and I was terrified (irrationally so) that maybe the pro-lifers were right – I WOULD regret it forever, I WOULD have “post abortion syndrome,” I WOULD be [smote] by God, I would become infertile and get breast cancer and DIE, or something… so I went to the clinic with my boyfriend, filled out a few forms and went to the “counseling room” with a kind young woman who explained the procedure and asked if I had any questions… I was a little shaky so she gave me a hug as well.
After that I continued on to the exam room, where the tech did a quick ultrasound and gave me a muscle relaxant and did some other preparation with my body. The feeling kind of grossed me out. But somehow I survived… the nurse hooked me up to an IV… I honestly don’t remember much after that, but apparently the procedure took a mere 5 minutes, and it didn’t hurt at all. The nurse led me out to another waiting room and fed me juice and cookies, and I was allowed to rest for as long as I needed.
And…that’s it! I felt pretty awful for about two weeks afterward – bled for about a week, certain parts of me were swollen to painful proportions, and my emotions were a total rollercoaster, but…it got better. I’m sitting here now feeling 100% OK with my choice. My abortion went totally by the book, I haven’t been smitten by a vengeful god, I’m not wracked with guilt, and my boyfriend and I are still together and happier than ever. That’s my happy abortion story…
Does Betsy’s story make your blood start to boil? Or maybe it makes you sick to your stomach. Or maybe it just makes you sad. As a Bible believing child of God, you have good reason to feel any of those things. But we can’t ignore something in Betsy’s story. The sad and tragic thinking of a world without Jesus. The sad and tragic thinking of some who think they know Jesus. This is how you solve the so-called ‘problem’ of an unplanned pregnancy.
It seems so logical in a warped sort of way. It can even be made to sound like the loving, considerate thing to do. “I’m not ready to be a parent. If I can’t take care of myself, then how can I ever take care of a baby. And I don’t want to pass off my mistakes on to someone else-that’s not fair. This is not being unloving- it’s being responsible.”
Oh, you want to talk religion. Well God didn’t strike me dead for having an abortion. Besides the god I believe in doesn’t want me to be unhappy. As long as I’m not hurting anyone else, he’s fine with it. In fact, my life is just as good if not better than before I got pregnant. And there are such nice people at those clinics. Everything was quick and easy and I could go back to living my life.
That’s just one example of millions. Everyone has their own story. Their own reason. Some can be made to sound so compelling. Yet in the midst of them all, Almighty God speaks clearly with all authority in heaven and earth. In the midst of the snuffed out cries of millions of aborted children every one of which was precious in his sight, God says: You shall not murder. And of this we can be sure. This sinful world that so carelessly abuses and destroys God’s gift of life is ripe for judgment. And God’s word is clear: it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:31)
Now I’d like you to meet someone else. She calls herself Lisa. She writes,
I am now 22 years old. When I was 13 I had an abortion because my mother thought it was the best thing for me to do. In some ways I agree. It would have changed my entire life but there were other options that were not considered and that I really did not know. ADOPTION! I realize at 13 I could not take care of a child. I knew nothing about having an abortion. The only thing I knew was it was there one minute and gone the next. The abortion clinic lied to me about the entire thing! They told me the baby would NOT feel a thing (LIE) they told me that it would not hurt me (LIE) and I asked to see it afterwards and they told me it would just look like a blood clot (LIE).
I deeply regret what I have done and I have to live with the fact that I killed an innocent child. It is bad enough that we have murders everywhere but for a baby to die in his own mothers hands is not understandable. Every day is a challenge for me and I have decided instead of beating myself up, every day to try to change at least one woman’s mind about abortion. If I can save at least one child from being aborted, I can start my own healing process and could feel a little better about this world…please post this letter and if any women have any questions about abortion or you are thinking of abortion please talk to someone first! Have you ever stopped to think what you are really doing? I didn’t – and it cost my child their life. Thank you. Lisa.
Many have called Lisa’s experience, Post abortion syndrome. We would say that God is using a conscience to call a person to repentance. That’s because God’s Law, written on our hearts often does its job. Women feel tremendous guilt at what they’ve done. Men feel that same weight because they pressured a woman to get an abortion for their own selfish reasons. Maybe not at first but later on.
And the devil is not stupid. He will use our conscience against us. He will torment people, trying to convince them that what they have done is an unforgivable sin. He will say, You murdered your child? What kind of monster are you?
Poor Lisa was willing to try anything to take that guilt away What did she say? I will try to convince one woman each day not to have an abortion. It’s a noble mission. But she was doing what others try to do. Make up for her wrongs. And the devil loves that kind of thing. He knows that for Lisa and countless other women the guilt never really goes away. He knows that despair is just around the corner. Despair and hopelessness.
But here is One sent to speak to our guilty hearts. In the book of Isaiah he says to us, The Spirit of the Sovereign is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. That good news is this. That Jesus came to suffer and die on a cross for all our sins and that includes abortion. He paid the price and now through faith in him, Jesus heals our broken hearts with God’s mercy and forgiveness.
There’s one final person I want to think about. No names have been changed here. It’s the person you see in the mirror every day. It’s you. It’s me. Our story is all too true. Maybe you or I have never considered getting an abortion or urging someone else. But there is a Bible verse that I can’t seem to get around. Proverbs 24:11. Rescue those being led away to death. That’s a verse that calls for some kind of action to save the life of the unborn. I realize some have used that verse to break the law and lie down in front of abortion clinics. And others might think it’s just matter of changing the law. But it’s not the law that’s the real problem. It’s people’s hearts.
But what do we see when look in that mirror? A person who has spoken up for the unborn or someone content to let others speak, others act. After all, it gets people upset. And what about our prayers? Have we remembered the unborn and mothers struggling with this decision whether to discard their child. Too many times I have not remembered them here or at home.
When we are confronted with these things and God’s Word sweeps away our sad excuses, it troubles our Christian hearts. It becomes clear as the nose on our face. We need to repent as Christians and as a church. We need to seek God’s forgiveness.
And how blessed we are. The One who came to bind up the brokenhearted speaks to your heart and mine again and again. From a cross where he cried out: It is finished. IN his gospel in Word and Sacrament he tells us: Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.
So today you’ve heard some stories. And stories can be powerful and compelling. But the most compelling is not about Betsy or Lisa or you or me. It’s about Jesus and his love for you. It’s about Jesus and his love for all. And so this is my prayer for each of us. That His story inspires our life story. That it inspires us to hold up God’s view of life and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. May the Lord Jesus so move each of us. Amen.