Abortion is about God

I wanted to share one additional post (see the last two) about abortion. Last night I came across some material that was written by John Piper. I think he really puts things into perspective. As we have stated many times, this is not about us. Below I have included the majority of Piper's article.

As Christians, we don’t have the luxury of speaking with vagueness, ambiguity, and cliché. When we open our mouths, we must speak clearly (Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3-4). But if we are to speak clearly, we must first think and feel clearly about difficult and controversial moral issues. So we need to realize that abortion is not mainly about a woman’s right to choose. And it isn’t mainly about a baby’s right to life.

Abortion is about God, the Creator of the universe, the Giver and Sustainer of all life, the Judge of the living and the dead, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Redeemer and Forgiver of all who trust him. Abortion is about God. To leave God out of the picture of abortion is to trivialize it.

All things are trivial without God. God is the ultimate reality over the universe. All other reality is derivative and dependent and has no ultimate meaning at all without reference to God the ultimate reality. In him we live and move and have our being. If we leave him out of account, we know nothing of any lasting significance about ourselves or the world.

During this election season, as politicians court the evangelical vote, it is vital that Christians remind themselves why abortion is the transcendent moral issue of our time. At a time when being pro-life is marginalized in some evangelical circles, we want to lift up the cause of the unborn and urge our fellow Christians to not grow weary in doing good.

We will reap a harvest if we do not give up. And the strength to persevere comes from realizing that God’s supremacy over all things includes his work in the womb. Abortion is an assault on the person-forming work of God. Children are a gift from God. To reject them through abortion is to reject him.

stay off the paved road...

--craig

A Few Additional Comments

Last night I took the opportunity to watch (in it's entirety) the Saddleback Civic Forum on the Presidency which was conducted on August 16th. During the forum, Rick Warren asked a series of questions to both John McCain and Barack Obama. You can watch the interview on the internet. The interviews were conducted seperately. Again, there are many things that could be said, but once again I will control myself.

Let me share one of the questions.

Warren: When does life begin?
McCain: At conception.
Obama: The answer to this question is above my paygrade.

Watch the entire forum and let me know what you think! Just go to youtube and type in Saddleback Civic Forum.

stay off the paved road...

--craig

A Matter of Life and Death

I have not devoted many blogs to politics, but after listening to Barack Obama’s speech last night, I cannot help myself. There are many things that I would like to say, but I will limit myself to a couple of topics. The purpose of my blog is not to tell you how to think. If you listened to the Obama speech, you must draw your own conclusions.

I will share with you what I think. I think it is ridiculous for a person running for the presidency of the United States to say, “We might not all agree on the abortion issue, but we must work together to lessen unwanted pregnancy.” The liberals (now calling themselves progressives) have been vehemently opposed to abstinence education in public schools. While the safe sex message has been promoted in our schools and in our culture, approximately 2,500 teenage girls a day become pregnant. While abortion supporters pass out condoms, 12,000 teens every single day contract a sexually transmitted disease. A number of these diseases are not curable.

I have purposely included a picture here of our granddaughter Hannah Elizabeth Fuller. Our first grandson (see ultra-sound above) will be born in January 2009 and then another grandchild in March 2009. Even though he is still in his mother’s womb, our grandson’s name is Caleb Haddon Svoboda. How awesome! What is extremely sad is the fact that over 50 million Hannah’s and Caleb’s have been senselessly and sometimes brutally killed. Christians often pray for God to bless America, but why should we expect God to bless a nation that murders their babies.

How can a politician with any kind of integrity say, “We need to help the poor” and yet support killing the unborn. How empty are the words, “We must make health care affordable for every American” while supporting partial birth abortion. How laughable is a statement like, “We must protect our precious environment” when we cannot protect our precious babies. And for all of you who call yourselves Christians and do not take a stand against abortion, shame on you. I am hearing younger “emerging” Christians deflect the issue by saying we should be engaged in more than one or two issues. REALLY? When the issue deals with life, nothing is more important! I am pretty sure universal health care, alternative energy sources, social security, poverty, environmental issues, and even war did not make God’s top ten list. LIFE DID!

What I do see is, “you shall have no other gods before me” (ex. 20:3) and, “You shall not murder” (ex. 20:13) What I do see is that we are created in the “image of God” (Gen.1:27) and that we are “knit together in our mother’s womb" (Psalm 139:13) just as Hannah, Caleb, and new baby Fuller. If you are not currently engaged in the political process, you need to get there. It truly is a matter of life and death.

-craig

COUNTING THE YEARS - pt.1 ... I read an article recently that contained the following quote;

"Why is happiness so fleeting and the pain so lingering? Memories, please just go away. Haunt me no more. If I had only known then what I know now. They never told me of the ensuing nightmares year after year. They never warned me of the emotioanl war, fought inside the depths of my heart, mind, and soul which rages on long afterwards. I never knew years later I'd still be imagining the ten little toes and see myself playing gently with the fragile fingers. Nor did I imagine that I would be counting the years and the number of candles that will never decorate the top of the birthday cakes created in my mind."

The writer goes on to say that back then she knew only of the freedom of choice. Finally, she says, "I was never privy to the high price of the choice --the hidden costs that continue to mount long after the service is rendered, the damage is done, and the life is taken. "

This is the first of several blogs in which I will share from the article "Finally Free." stay off the paved road ...craig