Roe v. Wade: It is time to stand up!

Mike Griffin, Public Affairs Representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, speaks May 6, 2002, at the Frontline Policy Action: “Fight for Life Event” at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta.
Mike Griffin, Public Affairs Representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, speaks May 6, 2002, at the Frontline Policy Action: “Fight for Life Event” at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta.
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When we look at what is going on today related to the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned, I want to set the tone for how we should be thinking.

In the book of Esther, Mordecai asks Esther, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” As Christians we need to have those kinds of thoughts about the life issue. It is “for such a time as this,” that God has brought us into His work, to stand up as He would have us to. God has called us for such a moment as this to stand up for life!

In the book of First Chronicles the author reminds us that the Sons of Issachar “understood the times and they knew what to do”. It's important as Christians that we “know the times” and “know (what God is calling us) to do.”

With that in mind, there are three things we ought to be doing, especially with the real possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned.

First, the church needs to stand back up! I have been saying for months that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, the “church’s hand is about to be called.” Simply put, the church is going to have to prove in a greater way that we are truly pro-life. It is now time to excel at “walking the walk” more than “talking the talk”!

If Roe v. Wade is overturned churches are going to be called upon like never before for help in caring for mothers and babies. It must be understood that caring for mothers and babies should have never been an “extracurricular activity,” but rather it should have always been the “core” of what we're called to do. (Lorna Bius, who heads up Mission Georgia, was the first who brought this to my attention.)

The book of James (1:27) reminds us that “pure and undefiled religion is to care for the orphans and the widows…” This kind of ministry is not NEW! This verse demonstrates that the church is to be THE “safety net” in our society.

On a number of occasions, I have stood with Suzanne and Rachel Guy in front of an abortion clinic encouraging women and men to choose life. In many cases, when these women are asked why they are there, they indicate it is because they felt like they had nowhere else to go. The church must step up and make sure that these women know the Body of Christ (the Church) is where you can go first for help!

Secondly, parents need to stand back up! So much of the difficulty that we find today in our culture is because, practically speaking, we have lost the family in America. We need to understand that as goes the family, so goes the nation! For example, all the issues that we are facing today related to abortion, foster care and adoption go back to the breakdown of the family.

We hear a lot today about making America great again. We must also understand that we need to make families great again, marriage great again, parenting great again, and we must also make men great again! We're finding today that men play a key role in our homes and many of the problems that we're seeing are because of fatherless homes. We need loving, sacrificial male leadership in the home now, more than ever! Parenting, based on Biblical principles, would go a long way in helping with the needs related to abortion, foster care, and adoption.

God has ordained three institutions to maintain our stewardship responsibility on earth: the home, the church, and the government. These three institutions must function according to biblical instruction if our nation is to have hope and encouragement. The Declaration of Independence reminds us that “life” has to be first, if we are to have “liberty and the pursuit of happiness!”

 Thirdly, Christians need to stand back up! It is absolutely essential that Christians engage the culture, politics and government policy. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the issue of abortion is not over! The fight for mothers and babies will now be moved primarily to the state level. And in some ways, the issue will be even more intense!

God has called every Christian to be “salt and light” (Matt. 5:13-16) and he has called Christians to be salt and light in every area of life. God wants us to be active in every area of life because Jesus is Lord of every area of life!

We should be reminded in the book of Proverbs (29:2) that “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked baereth rule, the people mourn.”  If God's people do not get involved, we're going to have a lot more “mourning” on the way. If we want a nation where there's rejoicing, then those who know the Lord must engage the culture, politics and yes, government.

The fight for life is now going to be more intense on the state level! Now is not the time to back down! Now is the time to stand up! Now is the time to be the salt and light God has called us to be!

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Mike Griffin is the Public Affairs Representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board

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