Image by Beautiful Light Photography
Jesus turned to them and said,
“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say,
"Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed."
At that time people will say to the mountains,
‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’
for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?”
"Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed."
Whenever I look at this verse, I can’t help but think that Jesus knew about the ongoing battle to keep babies alive in the womb. It calls to mind how there are videos out there of people who work at abortion clinics negotiating prices for the body parts of aborted babies. It calls to mind how often large families get mocked and criticized. It calls to mind celebrities who promote a freewheeling, self-centered lifestyle at the expense of everyone else.
We may not be at a time where people are outright saying that women who don’t have children are better than mothers, but the implications are still there. We may not have a legal child limiting policy the way China does, but society still recommends “small families” and tries to paint couples who refuse to have children as being just as good a lifestyle as those who seek to have children through artificial means.
Too often the label “pro-life” is seen as a political platform or a soapbox for preachers to stand up on as one way of condemning the world.
In reality, pro-life is just that: people who value life from conception until natural death.
It’s a movement that strives to help mothers in crisis situations and make sure that healthcare doesn’t come at the expense of someone else. And it’s not just a Christian movement or a conservative political movement, either.There are people from all points of the political spectrum who support the pro-life movement.
There are websites linking to atheists, Muslims, and even Pagans who also believe that life begins at conception. Like the “daughters of Jerusalem,” we need to approach the issue of abortion with compassion, not condemnation.While it’s good to have a debate, you can’t give into your anger or treat people as projects.
Instead, pray before you bring up the issue. Or just start with prayer, period! Prayer is a powerful weapon, after all. My prayer for this particular station is for an end to abortion and for people to be compassionate towards women who have crisis pregnancies.
I also want to offer prayers for the souls of aborted children as well as for their families and the conversion of those who support abortion and work in the abortion industry.
Abortion affects more people than just the woman who got one. It affects everyone.
Reflection
What are your views on abortion? Why do you think it’s such a hard thing to talk about?
- One popular pro-life catchphrase is “When a woman is in a crisis pregnancy, end the crisis, not the pregnancy.” How do you think we can help women who are having crisis pregnancies?
