Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Murderer by Default

     I know I'm a little late to talk about all the Planned Parenthood stuff going on, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about it, and something happened today that really struck me in relation to Christian action.  Honestly, all these things that have been coming out in the Planned Parenthood videos don't bother me.  That is, of course it's horrific, but not nearly as horrific as the fact that they are murdering these babies in the first place, and it makes perfect sense with their worldview.  Think about it.  There's a mass murderer who targets children, who can't speak up or do anything to defend themselves.  Do you really expect them to treat the bodies with any kind of respect?  Therefore, I really don't understand why PP is getting all of this attention now, but I am thankful that it is, and hope and pray that it will have real results.
     There's a guy I work with who is a pacifist, and he isn't a Christian, but he is a Jehovah's Witness, so we were both trying to argue our points from Scripture, and one of my main points is that sometimes killing is necessary to preserve lives, whereas he thinks that any form of self defense or defense of others that involves killing the oppressors is wrong.  After he went home, I was ruminating more, and I really wished I had asked him "so do you think that the rest of the world should have just stood by and let the holocaust happen without any interference?  Wouldn't that make all the other countries murderers as well by default?"  And then I was struck with the realization that that is exactly what we as Christians are doing when we live in a culture where helpless children, who are created in the image of God, are being murdered by the millions, and so many of us don't do a thing about it.  We cherish righteous outrage at the abortionists and abortive parents, but our own hands are stained with the blood of the innocent.  I am not saying that everyone is necessarily called to fight against this scourge of sin in the same ways, but we manage to be so apathetic about it so much of the time.  When I started thinking about this at work, the sense of guilt just took my breath away.  I was so glad I was working by myself, because I was literally sobbing, but at the same time wished someone would ask about it so that I could use it as an opportunity to witness to the gospel.
     I know this post sounds pretty depressing and hopeless so far, but I have to end on one very important point. No matter how great our sin is, Christ's righteousness is greater, and those of us that He has chosen before the foundation of the world are credited with it.  I may be a murderer, but in His death, He took on the guilt of my sin, and that is one of the many reasons why even in the midst of this horrible disease that grips our country, I can rejoice in God's sovereignty.

“Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”
Acts 5:31