I was asked by my church to write a response to the Roe vs Wade decision handed down last week. This is it.
A Historic Move of God
On January 22, 1973, our nation took what most people of faith would believe was a tragic turn when it made Roe vs Wade the law of the land. This unprecedented rejection of the value of human life seemed to be an irreversible descent into moral decay, the destruction of faith, and the death of America as a Christian nation. On Thursday, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States, overturned that law and opened the door to a historic move of God. For a moment at least, righteousness has prevailed. Isaiah 56:1 has come to pass, “Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.”
I would like to suggest three crucial observations that should guide our praise and adulation of this triumph.
First, this was never a political battle. It is not a political victory. And it should not be made into a political celebration. Too many times over the last 5 decades we have fought this war with the tools of the enemy, rancor and vitriol, political maneuvering, and even violence. If anything is apparent in this reversal it seems to me that it is that this thing only happened by unified, unwavering, unceasing prayer. Make no mistake, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Our party did not win this. Our politics did not win this. Our own power did not win this. Only our 50 years of prayer and trust in God brought this about. When we celebrate, let’s celebrate that.
Secondly, this answered prayer does not release us, as Christ-followers, from a responsibility to a hurting part of our population but rather intensifies it. While the prince of darkness used this issue for unimaginable evil, the gateway to the national, even worldwide abortion tragedy, was a very real wound for countless marginalized, underserved, unprotected women. It is imperative that as a church and as individuals we take all of the energy and passion we have spent to fight Roe and turn that into a concerted effort to love and minister to women in crisis, domestic abuse victims, and minority communities that deserve better health care, better educational systems, and better family services. I encourage us to adopt women’s shelters, community clinics, and other such agencies to receive our prayer, our financial support, and our volunteer hours. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Finally, succinctly, it is obvious that this decision has only widened the gulf between people of faith and the rest of the world. We must redouble our efforts to be kind, loving, grace-filled people. Even the most casual Facebook post or snide tweet does immense damage to the selfless, all-loving image of Christ we seek to demonstrate. Please, I urge us, to use the next few weeks to love like we have never loved before.
This is a momentous occasion. Let us lift our voices in praise and adoration, but let us open our hearts to reach a world that needs Jesus as much as ever
