Pro-Choice on love, but not on life!

   January 22nd is the anniversary of the Roe-vs.-Wade court decision in which abortion was made legal.  The issue of the life of an unborn child has created a separation of "Pro-Choice," and "Pro-Life."

   I consider myself Pro-Life because it is never okay to take another's life for the sake of our own convenience.  Do I also consider myself Pro-Choice?  Yes I do, but it is on the issue of love.

   Love to me is a choice.  It is you and me choosing to care about others, attending to another's needs.  God's love for us is also a choice, it is an action of giving.  It is valuable, meaningful and cannot be reciprocated.  We can have a response to someone's love, but we cannot love the person back in the exact same way.

   The Bible tells us that God is love, and if we know love then we know God.  Love is something we learn by example.  If we love others, we know God in some way.

   Choice, by its definition, means one way or another.  Having options gives us the ability to easily turn away from God.  We may use our freedom in an abusive manner, sometimes treating others in hurtful ways.

   The abusive treatment of someone who can't defend themself is one of the cruelest acts.  Such a choice creates a separation between us and God, by our own doing.  Whatever separates us from God is no match for the reconciling power of our Lord, but only we can choose to turn back toward the path of righteousness.

   Our Father values our lives so much that Jesus came to Earth, died sinlessly, and was resurrected that we might have life.  Wasn't that a choice, to care for us and attend to our need for reconciliation to the Kingdom?

   Love and life are so integrally combined that you can't have one and neglect the other.  If one is missing, we are incomplete.  Each one of us is precious to God, so we must treat each other as an important part of the Body of Christ.  Choosing to love is choosing life!

 

Parental pain -- human and Divine

(September 1996)

   It is hard for us parents to see our kids hurt from any kind of injury.  We want to protect them from whatever might harm them.  There is so much potential for pain: the skinned knees, the scrapes, the bumps, bruises.  And there's more, oh so much more.

   God must feel the same kind of parental pain.  What about something more serious?  How would you as a parent feel if because of the actions of one of your children, another child of yours was seriously hurt or killed?  What kind of emotions would you go through?  How would you react?

   I think that considering these questions and answers gives us a little understanding of what God goes through each time one of us hurts another.  Yet people can say that God is idle, while allowing such atrocities to go on in our world.  I believe that such actions tear at the very being of God.

   So why does God let the anger and violence continue?  How could we protect our children from every single danger?  We couldn't without smothering them and giving them no choices, no freedom to make their own mistakes.

   My son is 19 months old and in his short life my wife and I have done much to protect him and prevent catastrophes, yet he has had his share of bumps, bruises and scrapes.  As much as we'd like to, we can't forsee every problem situation.

   In all relationships our humanity shows through and emotions, positive or negative are present.  Tensions can mount and erupt with severe results.  When we opt for security the result is a loss of liberty.  Is that a worthwhile trade-off or is it within our power to affect the situation.

   There are lots of things we can do about our actions and reactions.  Many times I don't stop to consider how what I do will affect others. A more loving approach would go much further in making the world a better place.

   St. Therese's prayer says we are His hands and feet on Earth.  God is present in many ways through people.  The comforting, consoling power is extended through us.  Cheer someone on, lift someone up; God is life-giving through us.

 

Are we losing the human race?

(written in Aug. 1995)

   This year has been filled with so much violence, with the Oklahoma City bombing, the nerve gas terrorism in Japan, two small children being drowned in their family's car, and two other children died in a locked car where the windows were rolled up on an extremely hot day.  These are only some of the news items that were press worthy.

   There are millions of other acts of violence that we never even hear about (though now with the internet, more news is available).  In the mindset of our world, human life has been devalued to the point where the taking of a life has been so trivialized.

   There is no specific target age range, it is all the way from the unborn to the elderly, and everyone in between.  I heard a story one time about a couple of guys who were cruising.  They stopped at a stop light.  The passenger got out with a gun and shot the driver in the car next to theirs six times in the head.  When asked why, his reasoning was, "He was checking me out."

   That is so ridiculous, but I'm sure you've heard of similar stories.  I once sat on a jury for a case in which somebody was killed over refusing to serve a beer to a party crasher.  Now a 20 year old will spend a significant part of his life behind bars.

   So are we losing or have we already lost the human race?  Although evil and sin continue around us, we have hope in Jesus Christ.  The solution is in the education and edification of people that they are loved and lovable.

   We must reach out to others and show them the Jesus that we know.  God has no hands or feet on Earth but ours.

   This doesn't necessarily mean preaching on a street corner or becoming a missionary in a far off land.  We must set the example of love right where we are planted.  Some years ago I considered traveling to do missionary work, but I felt God telling me my mission is right here, where I am.  Bloom where you are planted.

   Jesus will reach out to many through you, but that is only possible if you say, "Yes Lord, use me."  Also don't look for results, just plant the seeds and feed those already planted.  God doesn't ask us to be successful, only to be faithful.  The harvest (results) will be realized in God's time, in God's way.

   So the question on which to focus is not, "Are we losing the human race?", but "Are we extending the kingdom of God?"  Our labor for our Lord Jesus is a life-long task.  Say, "Yes Lord, use me!!!"