One of my favorite blogs is Between Two Worlds, by Justin Taylor. In a post yesterday, he includes an interview he conducted with John Ensor, “Director of Urban Initiatives for Heartbeat International, an organization for Christian communities establishing pregnancy help centers worldwide.” One of the points he makes in the interview is that there are abortion “hot spots” across the United States, mostly centered around metropolitan areas. This is on purpose. One thing Margaret Sanger believed is that it would be better to abort a child than for it to grow up in poverty. Where are there large numbers of people living? Urban areas. And where do we have the greatest numbers of people living at or below the poverty level? Urban areas. And what race makes up a vast majority of those urban areas? Black people (or brown ones, as my kids like to say). I had not put the two together until now. Those compassionate liberal Democrats!!! (I’m being sarcastic). This is not the way to eradicate poverty!

Anyway, in light of my recent thoughts regarding abortion, several statements in the interview caught my attention (besides the racial ones).

“Proverbs 24:10-12. “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter; If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?” I particularly love the fact that this calling has no context other than our rationalization to say, “I didn’t know.” This is the signal that not wanting to get involved is the sure sign that we should. God sees our intentional ignorance and avoidance and reminds us that faith, which boasts, “God is safeguarding my life” can risk and act courageously to defend the innocent when it is dangerous or unpopular to do so. If not, it is a puny faith.”

“One example of what faithfulness to Proverbs 24 looks like is in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which calls us to be a death-defying, life-saving people. In the context of abortion, that means drawing near to pregnant woman in turmoil, and making their problems, our problems. That is what compassion means.”

“Repent for navigating around death and pretending it is not happening in our homes and churches and neighborhoods. Then resolve to do something where you feel the pain and loss of the innocents in our midst.”

I must admit, I have “navigated around death.” It is much easier to just not think about it until Sanctity of Human Life Week, get upset about it, pray really hard for God to do something, and then not think about it again until the next year. There’s just no way for me to get around it anymore.