Getting God’s Heart on Abortion
A number of different pro-life things have crossed my path recently so I just want to throw them together here in a rather haphazard fashion, trusting that in a cumulative manner they will help us in our resolve to stand for the unborn and to speak out on this greatest of moral evils of our time.
So let me in no particular order just share with you some of these items which I have just recently come upon, and hopefully they will help inspire you, challenge you, and strengthen you in the battle for life. The first is a quote I just heard from an American pastor, Paul Washer.
Washer is a terrific preacher who concentrates on the dedicated Christian life, the life of holiness, and the deep things of God. No wishy-washy preaching is heard from his pulpit. He preaches a solid gospel with no worries about offending people.
One write-up about him says this: “Washer cites Thomas Watson, R.C. Sproul, John F. MacArthur, George Muller, John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, Leonard Ravenhill, John Wesley, A.W. Tozer and Martyn Lloyd-Jones among others, as influences.”
Hey, anyone who likes all those spiritual heavyweights has got to be doing something right. I love all those great men of God as well. Anyway, he was recently quoted as follows (although I have yet not tracked down the actual source of this):
“Do you love babies? I do… If I love babies, I must hate abortion. Do you love Jews? I do…you must hate The Holocaust. Do you love African Americans?…you’ve gotta hate slavery then. I’m sorry, there’s just no neutrality. You see, if you truly do love that which is right, that which is perfect, that which is good, there is also an animosity, an enmity, against all that contradicts that standard.”
He does not seem to have too much written material out, so I assume this comes from one of his many hard-hitting sermons. You can read a bit more about this man at this website of his: http://www.heartcrymissionary.com/about/staff/2
The second thing I just came across today appears to be an advertisement for a GE product. I of course don’t normally promote company ads, but in this case one can make a worthy exception. It has to do with a GE 4D Ultrasound system.
Such technology has been around for a little while now, and it is a real Godsend. It can really help us as we seek to end the war against the unborn. This short one-minute video is really quite powerful indeed. One almost wonders if it is more than just a marketing ploy – maybe there are some pro-lifers at GE.
Whatever the case, it is a terrific short video clip and it is well worth spreading around far and wide. This is the sort of information we all need to make widely available. It certainly is the kind of information that any pregnant woman considering abortion must see. Have a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7B6C_0_rBs&feature=youtu.be
The third thing I have come across recently is a very moving and very beautiful bit of artwork which I am trying to learn more about. It has only recently been done, and it seems to come from Slovakia, a decade-old nation which was earlier part of Czechoslovakia.
Those who know more about it than I can feel free to post comments here with more info on this. It is such a moving and poignant work of art. It so very beautifully captures the truth of post-abortion trauma, and extends hope and healing to such women.
One website says this about it: “Jeanne Smits reports that a group of young mothers in Slovakia commissioned a statue dedicated to the unborn. According to her blogpost, it was inaugurated in the presence of the Slovak minister of health. It is called ‘The Child Who was Never Born.’ It was created by a young sculptor named Martin Hudáeka.”
http://www.bigbluewave.ca/2011/12/monument-to-unborn-dedicated-in.html
Another site says this: “On October 28, 2011 at 16:00 o’clock in Ves memorial, a dedication ceremony for unborn children was held. The centerpiece of the dedication included the work of young sculptor Martin Hudáeka of Banska Bystrica. This ceremony was attended by the Minister of Health, Ivan Uhliarik MD.
“The idea to build a memorial to unborn children came from within a community of young women and mothers who are deeply aware of the value of every human life and the damage that is inflicted not only from the loss of potential unborn children, but also from the permanent intellectual impairment (sometimes physical) of every woman who chooses to [abort] their unborn child.
“This memorial not only expresses the sadness and regret of the mothers but also forgiveness and love from the unborn child to the mother.” All the links I present here offer photos of this tremendous pro-life artwork. http://www.calebwilde.com/2012/02/sculpting-the-loss-of-a-child/
And here is a music video clip to go with this statue. I so much love this artwork; it is so powerful and moving. And the music here is quite beautiful as well. Presumably it is commissioned by a Catholic, but Protestants will basically agree with most of the message.
But this is such a helpful and important means of getting our message out there. It should be a real blessing to any grieving mother who has had an abortion. And it should also be a real encouragement and inspiration for anyone broken over the sin of abortion and seeking to turn this around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxCaPX3POiY
Jesus most certainly is in the business of offering mercy and forgiveness if we acknowledge our sin and repent of it. The slaughter of the innocents – some 45 to 50 million unborn children each year – breaks the heart of God. And it should break our hearts as well. But the good news is that those who have aborted their own babies can find grace, mercy, forgiveness, and new life in Christ if they so choose.
We all need to pray that we will have the broken father heart of God on this issue. And we all need to pray and ask God just what it is that we can do to end this horrific holocaust. We all can play an active role here, whether it is in prayer, sidewalk counselling, helping out in crisis pregnancy clinics, running as a pro-life candidate, sharing the pro-life message, or so many other things.
There is no limit as to how we might get involved in this great moral battle of our time. But we must be involved. Will you take a stand for the unborn? Will you come to the aid of those who cannot speak up for themselves or defend themselves? I leave you with three texts on this from God’s word:
Psalm 82:2-4: Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Proverbs 24:11: Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
Proverbs 31:8-9: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
[1186 words]
Good article on the sculpture here:
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/04/03/moving-sculpture-shows-the-pain-women-face-after-abortion/
At the bottom of the article is a link to a website where you can download PDF’s of the sculpture.
“The main intention of my brother to do the sculpture was not to be famous, but to speak about the important value of human life and the necessity to protect it from conception.”
-Marek Hudá?ek, brother of sculptor Martin.
Kate Cann
Many thanks indeed for that Kate. Great to get some more info on this. It really is such a powerful piece of artwork.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Dear Bill, Thank you for the article and the photo of the sculpture. That information should be widely disseminated.
Regards, Franklin Wood
Thank you Bill for bringing this to our attention. The sculpture is beautiful. The transparency of the child (unborn) forgiving the mother is truly moving. It is truly up lifting to realize that artistic minds can be inspired to depict such a moving image of a genocide little recognised by the world.
Praise the Lord for artistic minds.
Bill Heggers, Perth
Thanks for this Bill — it reminds us yet again of the desolation the horror of abortion causes, on so many levels and also of God’s great mercy towards every repentant sinner.
Anna Cook
Dear Bill
I came across the following youtube. There is a reference to the evangellie fish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xta-Co3YFUY&feature=related
May the Lord grant us repentance and to our American brothers the commitment to grow a backbone.
As Australian Christians we have an even greater need than our American brothers. We need to grow in our faithfulness to speak on behalf of all the children still living inside their mothers, and all those who may otherwise be murdered there. (And we also need to speak on behalf of the mothers and fathers who also lose their humanity through supporting abortion.)
Our American Christian brothers and sisters have impacted their culture much more than we have on this issue. (We do have important individuals and groups already here in Australia.) But if American evangelicalism is a jelly fish; sadly Australia’s is even less.
May the Lord grant us grace to continue to press on creatively, and meaningfully link with others, in ways that represent significant opposition to those held captive by this; the devil’s grip and stronghold.
Cheers, Chris McNicol
“You see, if you truly do love that which is right, that which is good, that which is perfect, there is also an animosity, an enmity, against all that contradicts that standard”.
Does the converse also hold true? If one is pro-choice, and professes to love children as our politicians are wont to do, especially around election time, should we believe them?
Dunstan Hartley
The monument to the Unborn is a poignant, gentle piece. It is far removed from the strident message of a woman’s right to choose. It is about the aftermath and offers, in silence and in sympathy, a time for healing. It is a beautiful piece of work.
Rachel Smith
Yes quite so Rachel.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
This is an article I did that may be of interest to you
“Memorial for Unborn Children: An interview with Martin Hudá?ek”
http://wp.me/s2nZKA-410
Bill Bannister
Many thanks for that Bill.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Great article Bill, I found this article relating to his statue an Interesting read.
https://evenifministries.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/410/
I’ve been thinking recently about the common excuse trotted out to justify abortion – that ‘it’s just a clump of cells’ – as if it’s no big deal. And the claim is also that this ‘clump of cells’ is part of the woman’s body. Well, we all know that’s wrong – it’s not the woman’s body. People need to be reminded that their entire bodies are made up of clumps of cells – which other clumps of cells in their bodies do they consider ‘JUST a clump’ that they would readily cut it away without a second thought– their noses maybe? Their ears? Or what about their entire head? Isn’t that ‘just a clump of cells’ and part of their body too? The only ‘clump of cells’ I think they would agree should be cut out would be a cancer – and I bet that wouldn’t be thought of as ‘JUST a clump of cells.’ That would be thought of as far more serious.
All other ‘clumps of cells’ in our body are actually significant and thought to be so – be it the clumps that are supposed be there as part of our bodies natural form and those that aren’t, such as cancer. There is no such thing as ‘JUST a clump of cells’ in the human body.
Truth is, a woman who wants to abort a baby doesn’t want to abort it because it’s ‘JUST a clump of cells’ – she wouldn’t bother if it were ‘JUST’ that. ‘JUST’ in this context implies ‘no big deal’, ‘nothing important.’ She wants to abort the baby precisely because it’s ‘NOT just a clump of cells.’ The desire to abort indicates that it is far more. It’s a baby – it’s a really BIG deal – not JUST anything. A ‘clump of cells’ doesn’t prevent you travelling and living your best life now and climbing the career ladder – but a baby might just do that. A baby might just get in the way of your life plans in a way that ‘JUST a clump of cells’ wouldn’t.