An Incriminating Juxtaposition

Two million are expected to attend the inauguration of our 44th and first black President on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 in the nation's capital. (Source: CNN) President-elect Obama has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) (House Bill H.R. 1964 & Senate Bill S.1173) to remove every legal restriction on abortion in the U.S.

According to the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), FOCA will guarantee "reproductive freedom for future generations of American women." "Reproductive freedom" is an interesting choice of terms considering the legislation's primary goal of unrestriced access to abortion for women. What is "reproductive" about deliberately ending a pregnancy and who is looking out for the "reproductive freedom" of the women who won't be around in those "future generations" because they were aborted?

How many Americans will attend the 36th annual March for Life (MFL) in Washington, D.C., just two days after Inauguration Day, to mourn the brutal slaying of nearly 50 million innocent American lives since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision granting women the right to terminate their pregnancies at any time for any reason? How stark will the juxtaposition of the crowds attending these two events be and what will it tell us about America's values and priorities?

In 1998 (25th anniversary) and 2001 approximately 225,000 came to the March for Life, the event’s “high water mark” for attendance. Will attendance at this year’s March reflect a growing ambivalence toward unborn life in America? Will actual attendance figures reflect society’s resignation toward a practice that continues to have profound implications for America’s demographic, social and political future? Or will they reflect a renewed momentum for the value of life in America?

Sunday, January 25 has been set apart as Sanctity of Life Sunday (SOLS) by the pro-life movement; it is only 1 of 52 Sundays each year when churches are encouraged to commemorate the American “holocaust” by incorporating teaching and music that remind churchgoers of the "fallen" unborn as well as the eternal value of every God-given human life. Except for the token attention it receives on SOLS, however, abortion has become little more than a faint blip on the radar screen of most churches in America, including in the Evangelical community. Many church leaders see pro-life “activism” as an annoyance or distraction from more “spiritual” activities and programs.

Resignation in the Church about the matter of abortion does not bode well for the unborn in America or for the Church’s evangelical mission. How can we expect God to answer our pleas for a fresh wind of His Spirit while we turn a deaf ear to the cries of the unborn.

As America approaches the 50-million abortion milestone, no one can reasonably argue that God has not shown divine restraint toward our nation. If we mistake God’s longsuffering for His approval, however, we do so at our peril. With each abortion, America is storing up “wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will render to every man according to his deeds." (Romans 2:5-6) The question is no longer if, but when and how severely God's retribution will fall upon this nation.

It is time for the Church to lift up her voice in compassion and truth and in the spirit of John the Baptist warn our generation, "Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come." (Matthew 3:7)

So who will speak up for the little ones? Will you?