Jump Start # 2359
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
The topic of abortion is back in the front pages of the news these days. Conservative governors in the Midwest and South are signing legislation that prevents abortions from the time a heart beat is detected. The liberals are fuming. There will be lawsuits all the way up to the Supreme Court until the side with the most pressure gets their way. Beyond the political reasons and the legal language, this subject has a strong Biblical and moral concern.
Our verse, directed toward Jeremiah, reveals three essential principles:
- God is the one who created and formed Jeremiah
- God knew Jeremiah before he was born
- God had a divine plan for Jeremiah
These same three principles could be said of you. Replace Jeremiah’s name with your name and it’s the same. Now, when we remove God from the picture, the subject of abortion becomes a legal fight. Putting God back into the picture, where He belongs, makes this a topic of right and wrong. Here are a few thoughts:
First, the child in the womb is not a part of the woman’s body, like her kidneys or lungs are. Indeed, she is principle in forming the child and carrying the child, but the baby may be a different sex, blood type, hair color, and eye color from the mother. The child will carry genes from the father and may even look more like the father than the mother. The child was created by God to live separately and independently of the mother. Your lungs and kidneys cannot do that. The child will have his own personality. He will have his own likes and dislikes. He will be gifted in ways that his mother is not. He will be capable of making his own choices. The child is not simply a part of a woman’s body.
Second, although the baby is in the mother’s womb, she does not have the right to do whatever she wants with her body. This is not true. Suppose late at night a woman sits on the edge of a bridge, wanting to jump and take her life. It’s her life, she can do what she wants. Right? Wrong. If the police get there first, they will take her off the bridge, using force if they have to, and take her to the psych ward of a hospital. They will do this against her will. Taking your life is against the law. This same woman cannot drive drunk or even walk down the street drunk. She will be arrested, handcuffed and against her will, taken to jail. This same woman cannot parade through the streets naked if she wants to. It’s her life she can do what she wants. If she tries that, she will be arrested. A person cannot walk in the public naked. So, the thought that a woman can abort a baby because she has the right to do what she wants with her body, is not 100% true.
Third, abortions are the result of those who do not want to own up to the consequences of sexual behavior. Pregnancy is a natural consequence of sexual activity. Abortions allow people to be irresponsible, careless and indifferent to the consequences of their behavior. If a person doesn’t want a baby, then do not engage in sexual activity. We understand this concept when it comes to free speech. That right doesn’t allow a person to say anything they want at any place. Try saying, while you are standing in the security line at the airport, “I have a bomb.” No, don’t try that. You will not make your flight. You will not make the next several flights. You will be hauled off to jail. I can say anything I want, has boundaries. There are consequences. And, the same goes for sexual activity. Since the 60’s, the sexual revolution has made it acceptable and normal for unmarried people to have sex. God’s laws hasn’t changed. The loose Corinthian culture was told, “Flee fornication” (1 Cor 6:18). If folks followed God’s way of things, there wouldn’t be a reason for abortions.
Fourth, instead of aborting, killing a child, adopt. In our family we have grandchildren that were adopted. I am thankful for that. Those bright eyes and wonderful smiles and spirits add so much to the people that know them. They are such a delight. Those children are being raised in the home of Christians and who knows how this story will turn out. They may even preach the Gospel someday. While abortion may eliminate the child, the emotional scars remain. They remain for a long time. Every child makes a person wonder what their child may have been like. And, once we remove the decency and reverence for life, we lose touch with what is really important. To say that I do not want this child to be born is not only extremely selfish, indifferent and godless, who is to say, that at the other end of life, I do not want the old people to live?
Fifth, what right do any of us, including the church house, the state house, the court house or the White House, have to decide who lives and who dies? There are certain things that belong only to God. It is God who determines the appointed time of death, not us. It is God who determines who goes to Heaven and who doesn’t. Not us. And, it is God who determines who lives and who dies. A major assumption is made in the abortion discussions that has never been proven, granted or established. That assumption is that someone gets to decide who lives and who dies. The courts want to argue about at what point they can make that decision and under what circumstances they can make that decision. Who gave them that right? All authority belongs to Jesus. He has given some authority to others, but not all authority. God has given governments the right to execute criminals. Romans 13 illustrates that principle. But no where in the Scriptures do we find God allowing the government, doctors, or the courts, the right to put to death the unborn. Both Pharaoh and Herod killed young babies in their times. They were hateful, godless men who were jealous, suspicious and selfish.
Finally, what about all the aborted? Do they have souls? We are not told at what moment a person has a soul. We’d like to know. Is it when a heart beat is found? Is it the moment a woman knows she is pregnant? Is it at birth? Is it the instant conception takes place? Our verse tells us that God knew Jeremiah before he was born. What did God know? He knew Jeremiah. He knew a person. What about the babies that are stillborn? Or, what about miscarriages? Some never knew the sex of the child. Some never got to name that child. Years later, what about those unborn? Did they have souls?
I say “yes.” They were formed, created and made in the image of God. Although they did not get to live, what was started, was stared by God. I believe Heaven is filled with the unborn who never got a chance to live. Many were nameless here. Many never took a breath. Many never saw anything. Will their souls be like my soul? What personality will they have? They did not know anything. They did not know the rich stories of the Bible. Are we to be equals in Heaven? A soul that was aborted and a soul that lived into their 90’s. The ninety year old, walked with Jesus and made choices that brought righteousness. The aborted never got to make choices. The aborted never sinned. Will those two souls be the same in Heaven? I don’t know. Could it be this is why John in Revelation saw so many around the throne that he could not count the number. The text in Revelation tells us that they came out of the great tribulation. Will the unborn that die go to Heaven? I believe yes. Where else would their souls go? There are only two options, Heaven or Hell. Limbo, isn’t a Biblical concept. It’s not real. The soul of the innocent goes to Heaven.
We might think, it’s not fair for a soul who never had to make any choices, fight temptation, and walk daily with the Lord to be equal to one who did those things. Be careful! Is it fair for any of us to be in Heaven?
The aborted may be forgotten by the world, but not God. That life, that soul was made in His image. It had His thumb print on the soul. There will be a lot more fussing about who can end the life of the unborn, but God is aware of these things. Someday, all of this will be over. Getting ourselves to Heaven is the most important thing.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Roger