This January marks the 45th anniversary of the infamous Roe V. Wade decision by the Supreme Court to legalize abortion in the United States. During these 45 years, nearly 60 million little lives have been taken under the protection of this law*.
As a Christian seeking to bend my thoughts around the truth of God’s Word, this is devastating. God clearly affirms the dignity of human life (Genesis 1:27). God clearly commands us not to shed the blood of innocent human beings (Genesis 9:6). God clearly considers babies in the womb as living human beings (Psalm 139:13-16). America clearly knows that babies in the womb are innocent human beings; yet, the destruction of human life continues.
In Mark 10:13, as Jesus was teaching a crowd, people began “bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.” Why would Jesus’ disciples rebuke them? Their eyes saw inconveniences instead of children and problems instead of people. But when Jesus saw their reaction, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). In Jesus, we find a heart willing to embrace people, no matter their age or stage. In Jesus, we see indignation against anyone who sees a human being as an inconvenience. In Jesus, we find a Savior who cared for every person.
Let me be clear: We should care about life beginning at conception. The fact that Jesus came as a baby should punctuate this conviction. Just imagine looking at an ultrasound of baby Jesus at twenty weeks! As our concern for life reaches into the womb, it must last until the tomb.
On the stage of public discourse, social “conservatives” speak passionately about life beginning at conception but seem to lose interest for the well-being of that same child after birth. Social “progressives” speak passionately about the quality of life after birth but seem uninterested in the personhood of the baby inside the womb. Shouldn’t we care about both?
As Christians, we want to emulate Jesus who cared for the infants and the toddlers. We want to show regard for orphans and widows. We want to show concern for people of different races, ethnicities, and genders. We want to show care about systemic cultural issues, like the growing fatherlessness in urban minority homes and how this affects future generations. We want to show regard for the elderly and be their advocate to life’s last breath.
We should all care about all of human life because we were all created in the image of God.
Brian Frost serves as an elder and senior pastor at Providence Baptist Church.
*https://www.christianliferesources.com/article/u-s-abortion-statistics-by-year-1973-current-1042
**For a fuller treatment of these assertions, consider reading this article written in 2016.
