“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” –
Hebrews 13:8
In ancient Greece, it was standard practice for unwanted
babies to be left outside to die. Either the weather or wild animals killed
them. Or, someone would take them and they would be raised as slaves. Those were
the lucky ones!
It wasn’t just sickly babies. Unwanted babies of all types,
including females, were simply discarded (men got to make the decision on this
and girls weren’t desirable in those days). We look back on this horrific practice with
disapproval. Really? Today, instead of waiting for them to be born, unwanted
babies are simply ripped from their mother’s womb and discarded. It was the law
in ancient Greece and we call it barbaric. It is the law in the US and the rest
of the world and we call it a woman’s right to choose.
One reason Christianity grew so quickly was because women,
not empowered in the ancient world, flocked to it. This was in large part
because Christians said, “Don’t kill babies.” God says a life is important (‘thou
shalt not kill’). Jesus says children are important (‘If anyone
causes one of these little ones…to stumble, it would be better for them to have
a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the
sea.’)
Society says it’s okay to murder your unborn
children, just as it did several thousand years ago. But the message of the
Bible is the same yesterday, today and forever. I am still convinced that many
people deny Christianity because at its root, it requires a person to
acknowledge there is something greater: it’s not all about them. And today,
more than ever, that is the exact opposite of our “Look at me!” culture.
The fact that society insists on framing the
issue of abortion as being about a woman’s choice, rather than about the life of
an unborn child…. Jesus’ words and the words of the Bible offer a foundation
that is unchanging. Society and modern culture blow with the wind. And in
today’s reality television world, society says, “It’s all about ME.” That’s not
quite in line with Jesus’ proclamation that He came to serve, not be served.
Because millions of babies are being killed
each year (in America, almost 3,500 abortions are performed EVERY DAY),
abortion is the most visible (and shameful) example of this secular disregard
of the message of the Bible: But there are many more. Jesus said to welcome strangers. Modern
culture says to take away immigrants’ health benefits and deport them. Jesus
said to help the poor and homeless. Modern culture says to ban them from
downtown streets. Jesus says that blessed are the peacemakers. Modern culture
says to avenge every affront made to you and more guns are the answer. Jesus said that the meek will inherit the earth. Modern culture measures success by wealth and how much you own.
Clearly, many Christians don’t read their
Bible, don’t know their Bible and don’t live their Bible. The neo-Christians
protesting outside of Vineyard Columbus Church (I won’t give them publicity by
naming them here) are an example of the extreme fringe who miss entirely the
meaning of the New Testament. More common are those who declare themselves Christians
and simply leave it at that.
I believe that today, Jesus would speak out against abortion. I do NOT believe that he would stand outside an abortion clinic and insult women going in, or murder abortion doctors. Nor would he hold up giants sign with aborted fetuses where children could see them.
But the message of Jesus and the Bible remains the
same. And the Christians who do read, know and live the Bible, choose to
believe in what the Bible tells them, instead of what society tells them. And
their compass will always point true north. Society’s compass will constantly
change direction and those who follow it will wander along the path.
