I hope you are, like me, outraged and sickened by the macabre Planned Parenthood practice of selling the body parts of aborted babies (let’s call them babies and not fetuses, shall we?). The gospel of Christ demands that we adopt a prolife ethic. We see every human soul as created in the image of its Creator God. Every soul deserves dignity and respect.
But what should you do with the outrage you feel at the abortion industrial complex, the wicked conglomerate, Planned Parenthood, that targets vulnerable young women for profit? Here are five things we can do, right now:
1) Speak out for the sanctity of human life. Despite how it has been politicized, the dignity of human life is not a political issue, it’s a gospel issue. Use your voice and your influence to winsomely express your disgust and outrage over this terrible practice. Don’t be silent. Speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves. Remember to model Christian civility, to speak with grace and truth.
2) Commit to engaging and voting to protect the unique dignity of human life. As citizens of a representative republic, we have a unique stewardship of our government. We should be involved in electing officials who commit to protecting the dignity of human life. Politics isn’t our only answer to reducing the number of abortions in America, but studies have shown that enacting prolife laws at the local and national level has led to a drop in the number of abortions. Christians should seek the welfare of the cities in which they live, working and praying for just laws.
3) Get involved in your local pregnancy resource center. Public policy is not the only way to protect the unborn. The most immediate way is to donate time and money to a local pregnancy resource center. I’ve had the privilege of being involved with a number of PRC’s and have seen, firsthand, the vital, lifesaving, gospel ministry they do, often on a shoestring budget. ERLC has a program that annually grants a life-saving ultrasound machine to a pregnancy resource center. You can donate here. And if you are looking for a center in your neighborhood, please visit Care-Net’s directory or Focus on the Family’s Operation Ultrasound. If there isn’t one in your neighborhood, maybe God is calling you to start one. Prolife is more than being mad on Facebook every four years at election time. It’s about saving the babies in front of you, right now.
4) Support and get involved with the growing Adoption Movement. My boss, Dr. Russell Moore, has written, perhaps, the seminal book on adoption, Adopted for Life. He has personally adopted two children from Russia. Today in America, thousands of young children are waiting for a home and yours might be the one they need. The people of God are called to serve the widows and orphans among us. A great place to start getting information is either Christian Alliance for Orphans or Focus on the Family. You should also read Jim Daly’s book, Finding Home.
5) Join us next year in Washington, D.C. for our first Evangelicals For Life. ERLC is partnering with The March for Life and Focus on the Family to gather thousands of young people on the National Mall to stand up for the dignity of human life. Not only will you get equipped to become a champion for life, you will hear about what it means to adopt a whole-life/pro-life ethic. You will understand what it means to see the image of God in every person. Join us next February at Evangelicals for Life.
6) Pray, support, and get involved in the mission of your local church. This is the last item on this list, but it should be the first. Your prolife ethic begins by joining yourself as a member to your local expression of the body of Christ. The most subversive weapon against the enemy, who plots the death and destruction of human life, is the gospel story. Today, as in every age, the Spirit of God is busy turning former enemies into friends through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Don’t ever forget that some of the most vocal supporters of abortion on demand today maybe your brothers and sisters in Christ tomorrow. Christ is active today turning Sauls into Pauls. And he’s calling you and me to be the vessels through which this message is proclaimed.