As I was driving home from the office a few days ago, I decided to flip through talk radio channels and hear what people were saying about the Supreme Court’s proceedings as the Court was considering upholding Mississippi’s ban on abortion fifteen weeks into a pregnancy. I stopped at a red-light and was behind a mini-van with a sticker in the rear window that read “babies on board.” The sticker sends a clear signal to other cars: “there are precious lives inside.” I realized that some of the people I was listening to on the radio don’t believe the conversations at the Supreme Court are about actual living children being carried, but about something less — something not yet a life. Because the Scripture I read instructs me that God forms us while we are in our mother’s wombs, the Court’s proceedings to me are about much more than arguments. They are about lives. As I listened to radio hosts pontificating, I was struck with the thought, “these are babies on board, babies being discussed.”
Every child is created in the Image of God and crafted by God in the womb of his or her mother. Many believe the current proceedings will lead to the overturning of Roe, below are four reasons I am praying that is the case:
1. Medical
Many have articulated that current abortion laws are out of step with what we know medically and scientifically, that perhaps our current abortion laws would not be in existence if we knew then what we know now. When Kaye was pregnant with our first daughter, we were in awe of the evidences of life and humanity we saw at even 6 weeks. We read a book that tracked what was happening to our daughter in the womb each day. The more we read the more we were in awe of God’s wisdom, creativity, and handiwork. That was 14 years ago. Doctors know more now and know what they know even earlier. To stand for abortion is to stand against science.
2. National
I love our country. I love the freedoms we enjoy and I am thankful for the opportunities offered to us. But our Country is not offering these freedoms and opportunities for the most vulnerable among us — the unborn. Of the 197 countries in the world, America is one of only 7 that allows elective abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy. In terms of how we treat the unborn, America is similar to North Korea. This is not something I love about my country. Our abortion laws are woefully out of step with, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
3. Historical
As a Christian I am part of a long legacy of caring for the vulnerable – including those society mistreats. Scholar Larry Hurtado wrote about how the early Christians transformed the world, during the reign of Rome, without political power. One of their holy actions revolved around caring for vulnerable and abandoned children. The Christians were against the infanticide as many children were being discarded. They adopted children. They provided care for mothers. Those early Christians did not have political power yet they found ways to influence society, to serve people, and to represent Christ in the culture. Thankfully, for the last fifteen years abortions have been declining in the America. Many have pointed to the work of Christians to care for the women and the child, for Christ-centered pregnancy centers, for Christians who have become passionate about fostering and adopting. Like Christians throughout the centuries, we can and must engage this issue more than only through political means. But at a moment in time when God could use the Supreme Court to enact justice and reverse Roe, we should pray that they do.
4. Biblical
In the Scripture we see David, Job, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Paul all described as people before they were born. David rejoiced that God knit him together while he was in his mother’s womb (Psalm 139). Job wrote that God clothed him with skin and wove him together (Job 10:11-12). When Mary, the mother of Jesus, visited her cousin, the child her cousin carried leapt for joy in the womb because he recognized Christ (Luke 1). Both the prophet Jeremiah and the apostle Paul were set apart by God before they were born (Jeremiah 1:5, Galatians 1:5). Our loving and creative God crafts people together with great care and wisdom while they are in the womb; thus, abortion is an assault on the Image of God.
As I am praying for the reversal of this legal injustice in our country, I also pray for those who carry guilt and pain over past decisions surrounding abortion. God’s grace is bigger than our past. His mercy is greater than all our choices. I am encouraged to be part of a community that believes the Image of God is on all people, from womb to tomb. I am grateful that we don’t merely view this as a position to debate, but as people who must be cared for — the unborn, the mother, the family, and the community.
