One of the earliest Hallelujah moments for me as I began my walk with Christ some thirty odd years ago came as I studied this passage in the Gospel of Saint Luke first chapter:
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
It filled me with joy! The revelation of the nascent John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb reacted to merely hearing the voice of the mother of the also nascent Christ—How wonderful the workings of God! This likewise marked the end of my heretofore pro-choice position on the issue of abortion.
You see, as a Spirit filled Christian, I realized like a thunderbolt from heaven, I could not reconcile the incongruity of a person, woman or otherwise having agency in determining the fruit of her womb's worthiness of the God given gift of life. It pricks at my heart this is not readily understood by all who claim faith in the child growing in Mary’s womb.
The child growing in Elizabeth’s body was no less John the Baptist than the fellow who shouted; “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.’ The Child in Mary’s body was the same Christ who said; “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Given modern thought, many would have advised Mary it would have been wise, given the circumstance of Chris’s conception, to “choose” ending her pregnancy. The idea the person growing within her has no right to life. Particularly when one considers His mother lived in an age of dire consequences for adultery, and the views in the day on fornication.
It struck home for me personally as I and my then future wife had made the very “choice ourselves when she became pregnant early in our relationship—I paid to abort what would have been our first child. We allowed our lack of faith at the time to rob us of a blessing, though the child’s origin was outside God’s prescribed order. Marriage, then sexual relations.
It was compounded by my having made the same decision earlier in my life with another woman. It was a decision not made due to a lack of resources, but rather motivated purely out of selfishness and the wish to avoid distasteful scrutiny. I did not see the children as people, just in ill timed inconvenience.
Then one reads Psalms 139:
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
This drove me to repentance, Prostrate I asked the Lord’s forgiveness, He being faithful to His Word , through faith in Him who has forgiven me. By faith in His promises, proven not by blind belief, but by evidences of His actions in my past I take solace in the hope I shall know these offspring robbed of an earthly life in the eternal life to come.
Had I not early in life been a faithless unbeliever, I would have reacted like Joseph did as recorded in Matthew the first chapter:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Indeed, hopefully, I would not have fornicated to begin with. Scripture teaches in James the first chapter: Verse eight; “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” This prompts me to ask those who claim Christ as personal savior committed to Him, who still advocate for “Choice” on behalf of "women's rights," are you double minded? If not, how do you reconcile this in light of God so often making statements like:
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5, and:
Isaiah 49:1
Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
Galatians 1:15
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
Ephesians 1:4
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
Isaiah 44:2
This is the word of the LORD, your Maker, who formed you from the womb and who will help you: “Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Job 31:15
Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?
How do you argue a woman, or any man has the right to undue what God has made? How do you reject participating with God in His acts of creation? How is your wisdom greater than the creator of ALL THINGS? I ask these questions sincerely, as we all must answer for what we have done in the body when we stand before Him. I know I am not the first to make these points, or to posit these questions, yet I am driven to do so in this hour—I do pray we examine ourselves and our choices in light of God’s revelation. It is through these revelations we are able to apprehend the character of God.
Second Timothy Chapter 3, verse 16 states, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness".
We ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”—Yet we are all called to conform to His Word. We are not citizens of this world and should not follow the ways of the world. We are called to take on the Mind of Christ and to seek His kingdom first. So I ask you, on the question of life, have you gone astray? Can you hear the Good Shepherd's voice? Are you an unstable Christian?
Digitall Publius
