It does no good to shout, “Cherish life!” and “Pray to end abortion!” if we’re not going to do anything for that life after the mother chooses to keep it. All of this abortion legislation that has us broken-hearted and plastering our pro-life opinions all over social media is actually a wake-up call, especially for the pro-life Christian.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:35-40 (NIV)
If you aren’t called to feed or clothe these kids, at least help someone who is called to do it. Yes, we need to change America’s mentality about abortion. But we also need to open our eyes to the great needs of the child after they’re given the chance to live. We can’t abandon them the second they exit the womb. And maybe, just maybe, if we can create a village of support for mothers and babies after they choose life, then life will become the only thinkable option.
If you’re reading all of this and something is stirring in your heart, don’t ignore it. Do some research. Find out if there’s an organization in your community that’s helping foster families. Figure out what talents you have that can be used to serve them. Or if you feel led to, look for the next foster/adoption licensing class in your area. I’ve never met a single foster or adoptive parent who regretted their journey.
If you’re a church, start a foster and adoption ministry. Call on your congregation and God will provide someone to step up and lead it. When a mother chooses abortion, she’s abandoning that child in her womb. When the church doesn’t make foster and adoptive families a high priority in its ministry, it’s abandoning that child after the womb. “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” -James 1.27 (NLT)
Instead of casting stones of judgement towards the mothers who choose abortion, maybe we should be looking closer at our own hearts. One foster mother shared this recently on her Facebook page:
“I ask myself how we the church can stand up and fight for the unborn, but be so unwilling to sacrifice to give these children the loving homes they deserve?
The answers I hear are:
“It would disrupt our perfect family.”
“We are just too busy with life.”
“It’s just not a desire I have.”
“It would be too hard.”
“I could not be a good parent to them.”
“It would disrupt our future plans.”
“My spouse is not on board”
“I’m afraid of how hard it might be”
…the list goes on. What I have realized is that all the excuses we might have to not choose these children are the reasons a birth mother who wanted to abort her children would give!”
We must act now. We must soften our hearts and give up our excuses. The future of all children, born and unborn, depends on it.
Looking for ways to help foster families in your area? Here are some ideas straight from a foster mom:
- Purchase school supplies or back-to-school haircuts
- Cook freezer meals
- Give a gift card to a restaurant to cover the whole family
- Get them a quarterly maid
- Buy movie tickets and popcorn for the whole family, fair tickets for the whole family, etc. Any family outing costs a ton of money when you have that many kids.
*Sources:
https://americanspcc.org/get-the-facts-foster-care
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3877861/
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This post originally appeared at Medium.com, published with permission.
