I will never forget the first time I read about the horrible things that happened during the reign of Manasseh. The text hit me as disturbingly descriptive, "And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom..." (2 Chronicles 33:6). This man killed his children. But all the while, he was conducting all of his practices as a worshiper of God.
In our nation today, the reality of abortion - the killing of babies - is unmistakable and, without argument, one of the most wicked practices our world has ever seen. The practice is wrong. It is irrational. It is also an occasion for us, as Christians, to pray for the justice of God to prevail in our day.
While our efforts to have the practice abolished are both necessary and justified, if they remain targeted simply at the practice, they are doomed to fail. We may succeed in stopping abortion, but I fear that we will fail at killing its cause. There is a root to the wickedness. If we merely prune the shoot, it may grow back as a tree. Pruning abortion will only result in strengthening what succeeds it.
As Christians, the best way to get to the root is to ask the question, "Why?" This is the question that distinguishes us from all other moral societies. By merely addressing the "what" (namely, abortion), we are one with the Muslim and other religious cultures. However, by addressing the "why," we are one with Christ alone.
As we read the text of 2 Chronicles 33, the answer to the "Why?" is clear. Manasseh burned his sons "as an offering" (v.6). He erected altars to the Baals, and made Asherahs, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them (v.4). Manasseh was an idolator (v.7). He was following the commandments of another.
We must understand that when we see sinful behavior, it is not enough to say, "I can't believe he/she is doing that!" Or, "You better stop doing that!" Rather, we have to stop and ask why they are doing it. I have written about this before, but I feel that I must say it again.
When you see the commandments of God being broken, what you are really seeing is the commandments of another (namely, an idol) being followed. (For example: when your child snatches a toy away from another child, he/she is loving the toy more than the child).
As Christians, who bear the Sword of the Spirit, we trace the "Why?" back to the idol, and we apply the death blow there. With our Sword, we cut its throat. If we simply say, "Stop snatching that toy!" we may succeed at stoping the behavior; but we fail at stopping the idolatry.
Killing idols is a bloody practice. This is also dangerous territory where we might get cut ourselves. Thats why our tendency is to sit back and avoid asking "Why?". We like to make judgments about what is right and wrong. We even like to preach, teach, and write about it in our blogs. But answering the question "Why?" demands that we enter into the "octagon", as it were, to fight. Idols don't play nice. And they often won't go down until the last round.
We'd rather not see the idol - for, in seeing, we know our duty is to have it out. The only way is redemption - deliverance at a price. We don't want know why b/c our conscience will drive us crazy. So, in our moralistic activity, we walk by rather ugly homes saying, "Man! I wish they would clean the outside of their house! It's making our neighborhood look bad!"
So, we walk by (quickly) and retreat back to our tidy homes. All the while, the people inside remain dead. Our Lord, however, demands that we knock, or perhaps even break the door down. He demands that we bring the light of the Gospel in to confront the darkness. This might require spending the night there. We might even need to bring the inhabitants home with us.
Why did the girl on MTV decide to have an abortion? Why did she change her mind about the nature of her baby - finally calling her aborted child "nothing but a little ball of cells"? And how could she justify this by saying it was ultimately for the benefit of the child? The answer is certain. Idolatry.
This young lady is forsaking the Sovereign Lord and following the commandment of another. What was that commandment? Thou shalt be comfortable at all costs. Her actual statement was, "I chose this path and I think about how stressing things would have been if I haven't made the one I made." She murdered a child so that she wouldn't have to stress.
This girl needs the gospel. She needs to know that God is the giver and sustainer of all of life. She needs to know that, by placing her faith in Christ, she would lack no essential thing. He alone is faithful to provide. He never lies like idols do!
She needs to understand that the idol that promised to give her a life without stress, has given her a life without her baby. In promising her comfort, it gave her distress - and unless repentance comes quickly, she will be forced to embrace the wrath of the Lamb, who will vindicate the life she took.
We must bring the gospel to the world. We must share the news of forgiveness - the penalty deserved is paid by Another. This is the gospel of Christ Jesus the Lord.
Let us join in our efforts to have abortion abolished. But let us also join in a deeper, more significant task; namely, taking the gospel (that is, your life and message in Christ) to the millions of girls (and women), who watched that episode of 16 and Pregnant, and, who are now seriously considering whether or not it is right to view an unborn child as merely "a little ball of cells."
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