I recently heard the testimony of a woman who had an abortion six years ago. The thing that struck me was that she felt so alone when she first saw those two lines on the pregnancy test. She felt there was no unbiased person or organization she could go to for advice. She was scared and only saw one way to solve the problem. Looking back, she regrets that she never saw her child and that her parents would never see their grandchild.
The goal of Pro-Love is the healing of the wounds that divide our society. Solutions that begin this healing process will be forged by biblical truths that can only be found when people come together with open minds. Most people would readily agree that God would be against abortion since He never aborts us when we fall short of His perfect love. Instead, He loves and supports us by sustaining our lives while continually offering us an eternal life of joy. God only asks us to love, so we can aid in gathering His children rather than inflicting pain, the kind of pain that drives people away from God.
Rather than pointing our self-righteous fingers, God wants the church to offer spiritual, physical, and financial support to the pregnant woman feeling alone and overwhelmed. This support would include counseling, a place to live, food, clothing, and transportation during her pregnancy. He wants us to help that mother and baby if the mother wants to have the baby, which means the support would continue after the baby is born if she needs help. It would also mean a family is willing to adopt the baby if the woman prefers adoption. If the pregnant woman chooses an abortion, He wants us to rally around her with whatever support she needs. He wants us to do all this without projecting blame, guilt, or shame.
Here is the Biblical support for this solution.
1. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 Jn. 4:8. God is love means everything He thinks, speaks, and does is rooted in love. The most crucial element of love is that it cannot be forced. Love must be freely given, or there is no love. So, whenever we try to reconcile verses that seem at odds with each other, we always pick the one that shows God's love. The other verse(s) is probably trying to teach us something, like what not to do.
2. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16-17. He gave us the Bible because He wants us to reason with Him, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isa. 1:18.
3. "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" Isa. 46:10. He has seen the end from the beginning, so His plan has an expected end of peace, not evil, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jer. 29:11. This is why we need to reason with His Word. It leads us to the path of peace, "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Lk. 1:79. The way to peace is not detoured by our wants. Instead, it is paved by our love for our neighbor, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. 13:10.
4. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Rom. 8:28. His creation works together for good when we abide in Him and Him in us, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." Jn. 15:5. This abiding is how we fulfill God's will and do our part in completing His plan, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12:2. We can do this when we believe He knows more than we do, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isa. 55:9. When we return His love, we will experience what God has prepared for those who love Him, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor 1:9.
5. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." Jn. 13:34. He asks us to love as He does, unconditionally. We certainly do not deserve His love, but He gives it anyway, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8. And we should not expect our neighbor to earn our love, but we should give it freely, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Rom 13:8.
6. "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." Rom 14:10-13. He asks us not to judge our neighbors. Instead, we are to unconditionally love them, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Gal 5:14. Which means we allow others to decide whether they will walk in the perfect law of liberty without our becoming their stumbling blocks, "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." Jam 1:25.
7. "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."Matt. 18:21-22. He asks us to demonstrate our love with unlimited forgiveness for the sins of others, knowing that love covers a multitude of sins, "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." 1 Pet. 4:8, and His love has covered our sins, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Eph 4:32.
8. "O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. " Ps. 139:1-16. God creates us, first in His mind and then in our mother's womb. So, even before conception, God wills us into being. Children are a gift from God, "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." Ps 127:3. Jesus has a special love for children, "But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." Mk. 10:14.
9. "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:" Deut. 30:19. In this life, God gives each of us the freedom to choose life or death, and He wants us to give others the same freedom, "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:" Lk. 6:37. Therefore, He does not want us to set up laws to limit the freedoms of others, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?" Jam. 4:12, "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Jn. 8:7, and "He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so." Matt. 19:8. Instead, He asks us to spread His truth in love, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." Rom. 12:18 and "And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Lk. 6:31, so others might see the truth and choose wisely, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" Eph. 4:14-15. People will never be open to hearing the truth if they do not first feel God's love.
10. We must allow the pregnant woman to choose life or death for her and her baby, for love does not force itself onto others, "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" Eph. 4:16-31. Love is God's solution. Jesus came and died to prove it, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8. This means we provide the support women need, no matter what they choose to do, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1 Cor. 13:4-7, this is how we demonstrate His love and become salt and light in a fallen world, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt. 5:13-16.
This is my Pro-Love stance. It will only improve if people come together in love, truth, and freedom with that goal in mind. So, if you disagree with any points or have better ideas, please contact me at bill@reasoningwithgod.com.