Getting Fit: Values Series

Getting Fit: Values

James 1:26-27

Rev. Brian Bill

1/23/11

Since there was no school on Monday and Mondays are my day off, our family went ice skating in Bloomington. I’m still sore almost one week later. When we arrived we quickly realized that hundreds of others had the same idea as the place was packed. Have you ever noticed that ice is slippery? Thankfully I didn’t fall but had some close calls.

After going around for a couple times I got off the ice and looked for a place to recuperate. I figured it was best to sit down before I fell down. It was then that I noticed two big posters of Martin Luther King, Jr. that were attached to the cash registers. It then hit me that Monday was not just a break from school or a day for family fun, it was a day set aside to remember and reflect upon the work and words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is a special day for two reasons. First, it’s a day that we set aside to worship our Creator God as we remember His works and respond to His Words. And second, it’s a day that we recognize that as the Creator, God has declared that all of life, from the preborn to the elderly is of great value and worthy of protection.

On this Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, we affirm, along with thousands of other churches, that every human being, from conception on, is an image bearer of God, stamped with divine dignity. Our nation recognizes the incredible impact that Martin Luther King, Jr. had in establishing the dignity of every person, regardless of skin color. Someday I hope that our country will gain the conviction to stand up on behalf of the preborn. Proverbs 31:8-9 challenges us to advocate for those who have no voice: “Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Before I go much further, I recognize that some of you are struggling with the after-effects of abortion. I hurt with you and want you to know that no one is cut off from the cleansing power of the Cross. No sin is too big to be forgiven by the grace of God. We can put you in touch with others who have had abortions and they can help you find healing: www.caringpc.com. I also want to recognize that while the focus is often on females, and rightly so, there are some men here today who either feel guilty for their part in terminating a pregnancy or they feel a sadness that won’t go away because their child was aborted against their will.

This week I reread the Sanctity of Life sermons that have been preached here at PBC. Eleven of them are posted on the blog if you’d like to do the same. This year, instead of focusing solely on the issue of abortion, I want to come at the topic from a slightly different angle in order to get to God’s heart for the often-forgotten and marginalized members of society. While that certainly includes the preborn, it also includes orphans and widows.

I don’t know if you saw the story this past November about a couple from Minnesota who touched off a frenzy on the Internet with their “birth or not” website: www.birthornot.com. The wife was 17 weeks pregnant at the time and they decided to conduct an online poll to give people a chance to vote on whether or not they should have an abortion. When I first came across this I printed out the comments and put it in a folder. I was curious about what their decision finally was but didn’t check back until this week. Thankfully, they decided to keep their baby! In one of their posts, they referred to her as “Baby Wiggles,” because of the ultrasound images that they saw.

Let me just make some quick comments. First, when the poll opened, the votes were overwhelmingly in favor of birth but then it swung way to the other side. It shows that people in our country are all over the map on this. Second, this shouldn’t be a matter of polling because God has declared all life sacred and worthy of protection. Third, when the poll started favoring abortion, a number of concerned citizens sent emails offering to adopt the baby. Fourth, and most powerfully, when the couple started posting pictures of “Baby Wiggles” in the womb, the vitriolic comments slowed way down because people have a hard time arguing for abortion when they see images of life inside the womb.

Sometimes we need pictures to remind us of what is really going on, not only in the abortion issue, but also as it relates to orphans and widows.