Father, today we find set before us life and death. In everything we do, may we choose life. Amen.

“On January 22, 1973, the US Supreme Court decided in Roe v Wade that a mother has the legal right to end her pregnancy up until the point at which the baby can live outside of her womb. We lament the death of each child lost to abortion. We pray for each parent who has chosen to terminate a pregnancy. And we commit to become a people who welcome life in a culture of death.” – Jonathan Hartgrove

“The world is going mad in mutual extermination, and murder, considered as a crime when committed individually, becomes a virtue when it is committed by large numbers. It is the multiplication of the frenzy that assures impunity to the assassins.”
– Cyprian of Carthage

Ephesians 2:1-10
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We can argue points and policy until we are blue in the face. When it comes down to it, as a Christian, we must seek the wisdom and direction of God in all things, in every occasion. For those who walk with Christ, then, it should be no surprise that we will always have a strong rhetoric for life and the preservation of life, because that is what we see at work in the heart of God.

Paul repeats what we have all felt before. We were dead. Dead in our sin. Dead because of our offense against God. We were doomed, damned and determined for hell. As Paul said, “We were, by nature, children of wrath.” Destined to stand before God, facing extermination because of our sin, we had no hope within us, nor strength to change our situation. And while it may have been easier to finish us off, we find a different impulse within the heart of God.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved”

This is the heart of God. For His glory and for the preservation of the life He created, He drew us, who were dead, into life. He redeemed us from the heap, and returned to us the joy that comes with life & salvation. He raised us up from that state of destruction and placed us somewhere we did not deserve, seated in a place of favor in His presence. This gift of God comes because of His grace, and with an intention, that we would do good works, walking the path prepared for us.

Since this is the case, there should always be a strong rhetoric for life at work in the hearts of those who follow Christ. There should always be a drive to protect and preserve life, whether in the womb or stretched out somewhere along the years that follow. Every life matters, every person is deeply loved and cared for. And despite living in a culture that worships and celebrates death, we stand for life. We are -for- life in every way imaginable, with all of the implications that come with that stance. We agree and say ‘Yes & Amen!’

Because of what God did for us, because of the drive for life that He has shown to us, because of the lengths that He went to to preserve our own lives, we can never look at another human being, inside or outside the womb, and agree to their destruction. God saw us, lost, broken and deserving death and He provided a way for life instead…and so we are a people of life, echoing the heart of our Savior.

This isn’t a political issue. This is a sin issue. We ourselves have been defended, we ourselves must stand to defend. We ourselves have been loved beyond measure. We ourselves must stand for love, life and equality of value for every human being on this planet. It doesn’t matter how loud the voice of death becomes, we find life granted to us, and so we strive and fight to see it maintained. This is love. This is what God would have us echo to everyone, everywhere. There is a rhetoric for life & love, intimately folded within the fabric and patterns of the rhythms of grace.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved”

Father, today we find set before us life and death. In everything we do, may we choose life. Amen.