You aren't going to like what I write and I doubt you will agree with me. I even debated with myself if I should bother, but the latest headlines to grab my attention is eating at me. There is something about this issue that is provoking my spirit. CharismaNews is reporting "Study: US Abortion Rate Hits Lowest Level Since 1973". Sounds fantastic, right? But then we find out that this coincides with a dramatic fall in pregnancies. This would be a direct result of the "morning after" pill and other such instant abortion options.
Yes, the abortion issue upsets me a lot but not as much as the other thing this news indicates. What screams at me from this headline story is that the Church continues to fall into greater disobedience as a direct result of our self-centeredness. People are having fewer children because the values of the world are becoming more of a priority over those of the Kingdom.
People have a ton of reasons for not having children. They talk about the financial impact and how they can't afford it. How fair is it to raise a child without all the bells and whistles? How fair is it to raise a child in a disadvantaged state? If you listen to the latest reports it costs too much. According to the Canadian Living magazine it is going to cost you over $12,000 a year, more than $250,000 by the age of 18 years (How Much Does It Cost To Raise Kids In Canada). Well, I must be a very rich man because I have a lot of kids and they lack for nothing. This is crazy and people are falling for it.
Others will say that they want to further their career first and children will just get in the way. Others cite the supposed world over population. These are all messages from the world thinkers who have different values and priorities. The Christian is not suppose to buy into such a world view. We, a holy people, sanctified, set apart, no longer belonging to ourselves, are suppose to walk in complete obedience to our God, Yahweh. But this is just one more glaring example of how we put ourselves ahead of the Kingdom and the mission.
We sing praises indicating that we only want the Father`s will but then we make all the decisions for ourselves. We ignore the scripture that talks about contraceptive practices. Onan purposefully tried to prevent pregnancy and Yahweh killed him because Onan's actions displeased him that much (Genesis 38). We ignore the Scriptures that tell us that Yahweh is in control of the giving and preventing of children. He opens and closes wombs. And the Word tells us that we must consider children a gift from him:
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward. (Psalm 127:3)
Unless it gets in the way of our plans?
Do I dare say that it is not even the issue of the children as much as it is in our failure to understand that we do not belong to ourselves? It is not just this one issue but it is everything about our lives. We are willing to worship Jesus but we are not willing to allow him to be Lord, to rule over us. We want all the blessings but we do not understand or accept the cost of obedience. A completely surrendered life, seeking the will of our Father, engaged in the mission, and following the direction of the Spirit, anchored in the Word. Not at your convenience but by his will.
The Church will rise, beautiful, radiant, loved and cherished by Jesus, but I am not sure how many of us will be counted in that number. My fear is that we are too busy chasing after our own interests to care.
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