It matters to this one!

By Pastor Joe

We’ve all heard the story of the grandfather and his grandson walking along the shoreline and there are thousands of starfish which have washed up on shore. Every so often the grandfather bends down picks up one of the thousands of starfish and tosses it back into the ocean. This goes on for a number of minutes and the grandson is observing what his grandfather continues to do for some time. Finally, the little boy chimes in and says, “Grandfather, there are so many starfish and it’s impossible to help all of them get back into the ocean.” The grandfather pauses as he holds one of the vast number of starfish in his hand ready to toss back into the ocean and says, gazing at his grandson, “but to this one it matters.” Last week was the 49th anniversary of the tragic decision known as Roe v. Wade. What was meant to provide the termination of a pregnancy from rape, looks nothing like the original reason almost a half century later. Please read the previous sentence only as historical information and not as an endorsement of the ruling. Fast forward to 2022. Now our nation says if it’s an inconvenience go ahead and choose to terminate the pregnancy. Sadly, many expecting mothers don’t know the options they have available to them. Usually all they hear about are the things our society pumps through social media, television shows, and advertising by organizations such as Planned Parenthood. “Just do whatever makes you feel better.” Or “It’s your body!” Terminate a precious life if that’s what you need to do because we live in a society which now devalues human life. The statistics prove the point; this year 900,000 babies will be aborted in the United States of America. The worldly experts say only 625,000 will be aborted in the same time span. This is a misnomer because hundreds of thousands of babies are going to be terminated by the morning after pill. (A baby already conceived is terminated by a chemical action.) What can we do in society where life is treated so flippantly? How can we make a difference in a baby’s life? Remember the Scriptures tell us that children are a heritage from the Lord. We as followers of the Lord Jesus can make a difference by supporting our local crisis pregnancy center and/or participating in regularly held peaceful protests or marches. Christians should be aware of what’s happening in our society and not be ignorant to the truth. Ultimately we need to see that every baby rescued is so much more important than a starfish! They both matter, but how much more important is a baby which is created in the image of God. I’m so thankful for the ministry of Lake Superior Life Care Center. I’m also very thankful for all of the other ministry organizations which make us aware of the current fight to protect the sanctity of human life in the womb. Our fellowship is another blessing which embraces the value and sacredness of human life. Lovingly we do everything we can to bring greater attention to the sacredness of God’s gift of life. Some Assembly of God fellowships choose to avoid this subject. That is their choice. As a congregation we need to embrace and support this amazing gift called life. Never feel ashamed for the stand you take on this issue. This issue should not be seen as either or. Every congregation can choose the level of engagement, just as long as we keep the primary objective of reaching the lost as our main goal! Don’t be trapped into the current thinking among many evangelicals, that we are mean spirited and have gone off track because of our involvement in the political arena. The political arena, specifically the government, is not the source we rely upon to change our nation’s current value standards. This type of rhetoric is only used by those who don’t want to take a stand when the issue is controversial. The church’s primary object is extremely controversial, but we don’t stop telling others that Jesus is the only hope of Salvation. Remind the “Nay Sayers” to read 2 Corinthians 2:16.