Friday June 24, 2022

Happy Friday friends! I pray your week has been a good one, and you are making sure to spend time with the Lord daily. Of course, today is a big day in America-the Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe vs. Wade. I wanted to address this, as it's the headline on every new outlet. As a born again believer, I am happy to see the highest court make this decision. Most people are not aware of the details behind Roe vs Wade, or what overturning it means. If you listen to most of the media, you would think that the world is falling apart at the seams...except it's not. All the Supreme Court did was put the decision making back into the hands of the states. If you live in California, New York, here in Illinois, or many other states, you can still get abortions. Overturning Roe vs Wade will allow states to determine their own abortion policy, rather than the federal government. While this is a big win for those of us who consider abortion murder, and I agree with the overturning of Roe vs Wade, this decision may have some negative, unforeseen consequences. Newton's third law is true for every area of life: "every action has an equal or opposite reaction." This decision will likely make the political divide even greater. Certain states will certainly ban all abortions, while other states will keep pushing the boundary between abortion and infanticide. 
As Christ followers, we must continue to pray. We must be careful of how we respond to those that believe differently than we do, and while we should all advocate for the unborn, we are not called to be abortion activists; We are called to shine the light of Christ, to be salt and light. Here is our verse for today...sorry for the long introduction.

Matthew 5: 43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

For those who claim to be followers of Christ, we have 2 main goals in life: The Great Command and The Great Commission. One is to love God and to love our neighbor; The other one is to tell others how to do the first one. When we become so mired in a single issue, that we loose sight of the Great Command and the Great Commission, we have lost our way as Christians. There is a difference between advocacy and activism. Advocacy is looking out for someone else's best interest, while activism is trying to get what WE think is best. A good example would be the difference between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. MLK could be considered an advocate, while Malcom X was an activist. Jesus was an advocate while Mohamed was an activist.
Let's not forget, in this time of heated political rhetoric, that we should always approach people with humility and a non-confrontational spirit.