Roe v. Wade…

It is tempting to pass by the Supreme Court decision that reversed Roe v. Wade and instead tell you about something humorous about the cows or the ranch. The reason it is tempting is I know no matter what I write, someone will be mad. I feel compelled to speak, however. Abortion is one of the most heated and divisive issues of our day. God sometimes speaks to me in a whisper that will not go away, and this is one of those times.

If you have seen video of protesters who claim to follow Jesus yelling hate at one another, that is not the way of Jesus. I read a report of a man outside a Kansas abortion clinic who claimed to be a Christian yelling that all the people in the building were going to hell. That is not the way of Jesus. Likewise, people who are loudly proclaiming, “My body, my choice,” are missing the way of Jesus, who taught us to be surrendered servants in the Kingdom of God.

The terms “Pro-life” and “Pro-choice” are not Biblical words. They are political labels used to influence voters and increase political power. God does not see you as a label but as a person. As a wise pastor friend wrote, “Jesus valued people above politics.” This means everyone I meet is created in the image of God and is loved by God. Every person has a next step God wants them to take.

Based on Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 1, God is more aware of what goes on in a mother’s womb than the woman herself. He understands every pregnancy. A woman’s womb is a sacred space where God assembles the miracle of a human soul. But like everything else in this world, what God has intended for good is broken. There is the larger brokenness of the world that stops people who want to have children from having children. Then there is the brokenness that is up close when a pregnancy is caused by poor decisions or by rape. Pregnancy can come to a woman who is in no position to care for a child, who battles addiction, or is in an abusive relationship.

I have been with couples who desperately wanted a child and prayed with them to conceive. After I prayed for one couple who had been trying to conceive for five years, the wife finally was pregnant. After giving birth, she quickly got pregnant again. Accelerating the story, five kids later, the husband said to me, “Pastor, please stop praying.” But I have prayed for other couples, and no baby came. I felt their heartbreak and sadness. I asked Jesus to comfort their deep well of grief and shame.

But I remember other encounters. I met once with a college student and her dad. She was date raped and pregnant. I will never forget him holding his daughter as she wept, looking at me with overwhelming pain in his eyes, and asking me, “Pastor, what do we do? Will God take away our salvation if she has an abortion?” I prayed for wisdom about how to answer; what would Jesus say?

I remember another conversation with an older woman in the hospital who had four grown children. As we talked, she shared that when children were all under the age of six, she found herself pregnant again. She said, “I was overwhelmed and suicidal. I thought I would kill myself if I had another baby. So I had an abortion. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, Pastor, but I thought it was better for my children to have a live mother than a dead mother. Did I do the right thing, Pastor?”

I know of a woman who was in an abusive relationship. If you have not been in such a relationship, you do not know the blinding circle of hoping and wounding that occurs. The woman in this relationship became pregnant. She knew if she carried the baby to term, she would put the baby in harm’s way. She got an abortion. Did she make the right decision?

When I think about these real stories, I find myself asking, “What would Jesus do? What would Jesus say?” I am certain he would say, “I have not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through me might be saved.” Jesus can and will redeem every pregnancy, whether terminated or carried to term. Having an abortion does not keep a person from heaven. But keeping a child does not automatically mean a person has done the most righteous thing. In some situations, it feels like abortion is the lesser of two evils (yes, I am aware that phrase is also not in the Bible).

At the same time, I cannot imagine Jesus being casual about abortion or endorsing it as a license to go out and live however you want. Let us be honest: before an abortion occurs, there are many other decisions and choices that come before it. I think Jesus grieves when he sees people heading down a road that has a negative consequence at the end.

By now, I imagine some of you feel frustrated reading this because you want me to use your label and agree with your position. I can understand that. But I can’t do it. I believe people need to be loved, not judged. God is the judge, and I will leave that decision to him. But Jesus is clear when he says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” That means to listen, to understand, to want good for people on every side of this issue.

Before I cast any stones, I must remember I, too, am a sinner. If not for the grace and love of my forgiving Heavenly Father, I would stand condemned. This, to me, seems to be the position of humility. Humility means I need to love those who disagree with me and those who agree with me. Who has been humble in the week since the Supreme Court decision?

What does the reversal of Roe v. Wade mean? It means more love is required. I must love those who terminate pregnancies. I must love those who carry their babies to term. I must love those who face impossible situations and be as much like Jesus as I can be. I must pray for strength not to be captured by a political allegiance but to give my whole heart to Jesus. I must have the wisdom of Jesus in situations that do not have easy solutions.

The key issue in life is not Roe v. Wade, but Me v. Sin. I lose that case every time. But thanks be to God, Jesus came to save me, and all who will call on his name. He overturned the most important case of all.