Monday February 25, 2019 will go down as a day of ghastly and reprehensible actions by the senate of the United States of America. It makes precious little difference if you are a Democrat or Republican. On this day, Senate Bill 311 (aka: The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act) was voted down in the senate by a vote of 44 senators who opposed this bill.
I included the link above, so you can read the bill for yourself. The language is very attainable and clear. It simply states that an infant born alive after an attempted abortion should be granted the designation of personhood and afforded medical treatment as a person.
44 educated and informed people voted no to this! 44 people said that an infant separated from his or her mother should be neglected to death on the table. Let that sink in! This is ghastly! This is reprehensible! This has nothing to do with the health of the mother as we’ve been told for decades. This is the grisly plot and plan of abortion rights advocacy all along. And they have finally played their cards for all to see. 44 of our elected leaders could not bring themselves to vote to protect the life of a little baby taking his or her first breaths!
At the end of the day, the voting down of a bill to protect infants born alive, reveals that many of our leaders believe that the value of life is found in whether or not the mother wants the child. Where does this stop? Why would there be any place for it to stop? The idea that a mother can choose what to do with a person born and breathing outside her womb, makes me honestly fear for the toddler who may get on her nerves around 22 months! This is not an extreme question. It is a logical question.
So what are Christians to do when the darkness plays its cards so clearly? I recommend three courses of action.
1. Acknowledge that there is a genuine SPIRITUAL battle raging.
There are times and seasons when Satan overplays his hand. And this is a such a time. And in showing His hand the followers of Christ receive a stark, albeit ghastly reminder that he has a plan. He hates life. He hates humanity. And he would love to destroy all of us if he could. We must be shaken awake to the reality of the spiritual war that we live in daily. It is a reality. And if we neglect to remember this battle, it will not make it go away. It will just mean that we are not engaged in the battle as we ought to be.
2. Pray.
When we pray, we gather within ourselves the peace of having gone to the one who is in control of all things. And we bring the battle back to our mighty and strategic commander! In prayer we prove our trust and dependence upon HIM for the battle. It will not be a battle we can win in our flesh. It is not for us to take control of this in our own strength. Our hope must rest in Christ and Christ alone to change our society one heart and one life at a time through His glorious gospel.
So when we pray, we pray for more than merely political change, or social change, or policy change. We can ask for those things, and we should. But more fundamentally we should ask for a harvest among those in darkness and spiritual blindness. We should pray for these 44 senators caught so deeply in darkness that they can no longer see the value of a living and breathing infant. We should pray for the light of the glory of Christ to dawn in the darkest recesses of our own hearts as well as in every heart.
3. Take Action in Our Own Communities to Value Life
Serve the underprivileged. Consider foster care and adoption. Support and encourage families involved in foster care. Bring the good news of Christ to any and all who will listen. Love God! Love life! Love people!
There is a logical flow to these three courses of action. We must acknowledge in our mind what is really going in around us. THEN we bring that situation to our King. Then we receive our commission to go out and be salt and light to a tasteless and dark world. It cannot be enough for us to treat this situation as merely a matter of political taste! We cannot shout this down or skim the surface by ranting about the senate decision!
We must act on the concerns that God is bringing to our generation.
I am deeply grieved by this reprehensible decision by the United States Senate. But I am not surprised. I knew we were already in a spiritual battle. But I am grateful that God is a God of justice. And He will bring it all back around to what is good and true in the end.
As far as the here and now, I cannot throw my hands up in despair and give in. Because it is a such a beautiful thing to be given a role in this dramatic time in history. He has a part for each one of His people to play. And if we find this vote ghastly and reprehensible, then we should let that fuel our prayers and our actions. If you value life, then show it with your love!
