Scrolling through Facebook this morning lead me to this PragerU video on abortion. There has been a lot said about abortion in the past few days. As is their usual style, PragerU presents the pro-life argument in a common sense, easy to understand way. One thing he said leaped out at me this morning.
It’s not about the woman’s right to choose. It’s about the person inside her.
Just think about the second part of that a minute. It’s about the person inside her. Mom, there’s a real live person inside your body. Isn’t that absolutely amazing? There is a whole other person moving, living and growing right inside of you. How can anyone not be in awe?
Even if you don’t believe in God, the fact that two people can begin the process of creating a whole new person has to amaze you. But, for those of us who do believe in God, it is faith building. Faith that God is real. Faith that without Him we are helpless. Faith that God loves us and wants us to have babies and to love those babies and to teach those babies about Him.
“For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:13-14
I have given birth 7 times. Each time it was like it was the first time. The wonder of what was happening inside of me never ceased to amaze me. The love for the child grew right along with the child. There was a small human being inside of me that kicked his little legs and sucked his little fingers and listened to everything I said. The wonderful part is that God knew this child. I could only wonder what he looked like, what he would be like but God knew. God created him. God created me. God knows and loves him and me.
While it saddens me that women would not want a child that was growing inside her and while I can’t understand how she could ask someone to kill her baby, God is not surprised. He knew. He knew that there would be women who did not love their babies. It is a learned thing — this love for a mother and her baby. A mother who is loved and lives in a nurturing environment learns to love through her own experiences but not all women are blessed to live under such supportive circumstances.
Titus 2:4 tells the older women to teach the younger women to “love their children”. It is something to be learned. We need to lovingly teach women that the child inside her is a real person. We need to teach her that this little person is worthy of respect, love and nurturing. We need to teach her that her most important role while on this earth is to love this little person and to teach this little person about God. It is not a high enough goal for many today. Instead of seeing motherhood as an honor and responsibility greater than any other, we are taught that it is a sideline job that should only be tolerated a couple of times so that we can get on with the really important things in our life. Things that will enhance us as a human being. Things that will make us successful in our careers and in our pocket books.
How can we teach this to young women? We can have a Bible class…if she is willing to invest her time in attending. We can share articles and videos on social media…if she will take the time to read or listen. We can attend rallies that draw attention to the subject…if she is paying attention. All of these and more can help to get the message out there that it is a real person inside her body but I think there is a better way. It may not resound to the masses like a rally will or entertain like a video will or give the book chapter and verse like the Bible class will.
What is this better way? Living the life of a loving mother. Have children…lots of them. Let the young women in your life see you sacrificing your ambitions and desires to give birth to and raise children who will love God. Praise the young girls when they dote on the babies in their lives. Encourage them to learn how to care for them. Talk to them about being a mother. Encourage them to dream about having babies. Let them see you devoting your life to maintaining a happy home where children…lots of them…are loved. Don’t hide the hard stuff from them. Let them see you, even help you, deal with the messiness that having children involves. Let them see you tired and haggard but let them also see you in love with and loved by all those children. Let them see what an honor being a mother is.
This method of teaching women cannot be bound into a tidy book. It cannot be taught in a classroom. A woman cannot earn credit or a diploma to prove what she has learned. It can only be taught in our everyday life. Each of us teaching, influencing, encouraging the women around us. Building relationships that will encourage discussions. Spending time together in a relaxed environment. It takes time. It takes energy. It takes giving of ourselves and opening ourselves up to accepting this “instruction” as well as giving it. It takes a village. A village made of God fearing people who will encourage and sustain us when times get hard. A village that honors the person inside her. A village as described in Titus 2.
Titus 2:1-10
“But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”
