Faith & Insight: American, the church & abortion

Recently, the world mourned the loss of Cecil the lion. This majestic and famous lion was tragically killed when it appeared he was lured off of a protective park in Zimbabwe. The international attention to this killing has sparked outrage among animal conservationists, politicians and celebrities. Good, or bad. Right, or wrong. Everywhere I turned and everything I tuned into, it was talking about this tragic loss of Cecil the lion.

As tragic as the killing of this animal was to so many people, an even greater tragedy is facing us: abortion. Many, especially in the church, are confused on this issue and have remained silent or have tried to make this about politics or cultural changes. Abortion is a spiritual problem that has huge political and social ramifications. The death of one lion, an animal, should not emotionally outweigh the deaths of millions of human babies in America.

The church must rise up and speak to this issue with love and truth. For far too long the church and its leaders and its members have mistaken abortion as something political, and thus say or do nothing because of a belief politics and the church should not go side-by-side. But because abortion is a spiritual issue first, the church must rise up as conduits of God’s love, his grace and his mercy when it comes to the issue of abortion in America.

The majority of babies being aborted are not from vicious rape situations or due to critical health concerns for the mother — the majority of babies aborted in America come from the choice a woman makes, and this might sound harsh, but that choice has less to do with the life she’s carrying and more to do with her life circumstances and conveniences. Now is the time we must take a stand, and help those in tough places get the right information about the sanctity of all life, even the life of an unborn child.

Many within the church have experienced abortion first-hand or are weighing their options regarding abortion. To those women and men, please know this: I do not condemn you nor wish to shame you. I do, however, long for those considering abortion to become informed before they make their choice, and for those who may be hurting from a past abortion to find true healing through Jesus Christ.

In our community, we have a wonderful resource to help you where you’ll be treated with compassion and without judgement and it’s called Life Choices Community Pregnancy Clinic, located at 1201 N. Stewart St., Suite 110, in Carson City. Go there, please, or call the clinic at 775-241-8161 and let it share with you about the options you have, the hope for your circumstances, and the restoration from your past choices.

A bold and courageous man, reminded Esther, a queen, of her divine purpose: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

The world is reminding us, the church, of the challenge, and we must rise to the occasion before us and boldly, courageously and compassionately declare the whole truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ — which includes the sanctity of human life. We must be the leaders in seeing the end to the legalization of abortion. And, we must rally around support networks like Life Choices and help those who have been hurt or who are wrestling with an unforeseen pregnancy. We must compassionately help them understand their options and how important their choice for life truly is.

As followers of Christ today, we must be a voice who declares, without shame or fear, all lives matter and abortion is tearing apart the fabric of our society. Let us then, without fear or shame, be voices of God’s truth for life and may we be active demonstrations of His love as we take a bold stand for life.

America needs to know the abortion industry destroys and devalues human life. The church must address this spiritual issue for what it is and the church must demonstrate the power of God’s grace and redemption for all those touched by abortion. Let us join together to be champions of God’s love as we confront this issue that’s affecting so many people. And may the church be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, being obedient to God first and foremost as we move beyond our personal beliefs and represent God’s truth for all life.

Nick Emery is the senior pastor at Good Shepherd Wesleyan Church. He can be reached at pastornick@gswc.org.