Often, the criticism that stings the most is that which you know is true. False narratives can be shrugged off, but when the criticism has a measure of truth, it has a way of hitting just a little harder.
Much of the criticism that gets leveled at the church is not valid. However, one that carries some sting hits us in a spot where the evangelical church claims to be strong. Maybe you have heard it, maybe you have not. Maybe it is true for you, maybe it is not. However, as anecdotal as it may be, experience has taught me that this one hurts because for the vast majority of Christians it is regrettably true.
What is the criticism? Here goes…
Evangelical Christians claim to be pro-life but they actually stop caring when the baby is born.
Ouch. Why does that hurt? It pains us, because for the most part, it is true.
There is a difference between being pro-life and being anti-abortion
Oh, I know, you are staunchly Pro-Life. You would never vote for a candidate or even a party that supported abortion. You would never tell your child to get an abortion. You would gladly tell someone it is sinful if they ask.
But, does your responsibility end there? Is that really being pro-life? Is there more to it than a vote every few years and occasionally offering an opinion.
There is a difference between being pro-life and being anti-abortion. Far too many claim to be the former while living as the latter.
What if we really walked in that love for life, not as a political position or a virtue signaling conversation point, but what if we really were Pro-life?
To be truly Pro-Life, you must care about life “from the womb to the tomb.” Pro-Life means I am concerned about children at the border, Pro-Life means the opiate overdoses in my neighborhood break my heart. Pro-Life means I see homelessness as tragic. Pro-Life means I am concerned about the ravages of war and genocide, no matter the religion or ethnicity of the victims. Pro-Life means I care about the number of violent deaths in the streets of our cities. Pro-Life means I think it is tragic when Law Enforcement takes a life and when their lives are lost in the line of duty. Pro-Life means I care about literacy rates. Pro-Life means elder abuse matters like child abuse. Pro-Life means I care about orphans as much as I do the unborn. Pro-Life means the foster kids in my county are important, too. Pro-Life means life matters.
All lives matter, black lives matter, baby lives matter, police lives matter… it all sounds good as rhetoric. Yet, if you really thought lives mattered, would you feel differently about some of the very people you pass by each day? Would you volunteer? Would you give more? Would anything change?
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” -1 John 4:7
What if we really walked in that love for life, not as a political position or a virtue signaling conversation point, but what if we really were Pro-life?
Would it change how we pray?
Would it affect how we talk?
Would it change our giving?
Be real, how much does being Pro-Life actually effect your life?
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