Dakota Beacon

A few weeks ago I was asked in a debate in Fargo, “What is your position on abortion?” and the moderator then said… “Each of the candidates will have 15 seconds to respond”.

I have to tell you honestly, a surge of rage flowed through me that I was not sure I could contain… so I simply said “I am pro life”, and passed the microphone on to the next candidate. This event haunts me to this very minute.  

15 seconds? Is this what we have reduced ourselves to? 15 seconds to defend the sanctity of life? 15 seconds to recall the Word of The Lord saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”... And “You were carefully and wonderfully made”. 15 seconds to remind us all that Jesus posed the question to us all… “Know ye not that the very hairs on your head were numbered before the foundation of the Earth?” 15 seconds to articulate the divine destiny that is appointed unto every member of the human race?

Have we become so calloused that we only allot 15 seconds to recite the words of our foundational documents which boldly proclaim… “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights… among them being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Have we as a society become so tolerant of evil that when we see it in action… we simply throw a casual glance in that direction for a minuscule 15 seconds?

Why not 20 seconds? That would seem more appropriate… after all, the statistics recorded on our collective approval of this Nation’s Supreme Court mandated voluntary child slaughter would prove that 20 seconds is just the right amount of time needed to justify the taking of an innocent life. Just do the math. 1.5 million abortions per year equals 4109 abortions per day… which equals approximately 180 per hour… which equals 3 abortions every minute… and one child murdered every 20 seconds in this land of the free and home of the brave.

It is apparent that in the rush to pursue our own personal happiness… we have forgotten that all life is endowed by God… we have ignored our most sacred responsibility to protect the liberties of all of our citizens, especially the most innocent… and most helpless.

It is clear beyond any doubt that we the people of the nation who call ourselves by His name… have slothfully disobeyed the greatest of all commandments which is to love our neighbor as Christ loved us… and in so doing… we have loved our God with all of our heart soul and mind.  

So who do these staggering statics truly belong to? Who is truly responsible for the light of the world growing dim… the salt of the earth losing its saltiness? Who will someday account for the death of an unborn child sent by God Himself to teach us the very essence of unconditional love? Will it be the lost… that are blamed for being lost? Will it be the blind that will be judged for their actions while blinded by their own misguided sense of self worth?

Or will it be those of us who have been handed the truth… and then failed to speak the truth? Will it be those of us who have been forgiven so much, redeemed by the blood of the lamb, sanctified by His amazing grace, and rescued by His unfailing love… that will stand in judgment for our unwillingness to show the same love, the same grace, the same forgiveness to those who know not of such an unbounded love… because we show them not?

What will we say on that day? What will be our defense? Will we point to the legality of it all? Will we stand before a righteous God and somehow try to convince Him that Roe vs. Wade is to blame? Can we somehow justify to an omnipotent Creator that we walked right past a child in need on any given day… never taking the time to instill morality by example… never showing the love of God to that child by our actions… and then stood across the street from the abortion clinic 12 years later and called that same child a murderer?

I guess that I am just not that brave after all… because I don’t think I can muster that defense in all honesty… and somehow expect forgiveness for my disobedience to the commandment to love my neighbor with the same intensity, the same selflessness, the same spiritual understanding… that my God has shown to me.

So the next time someone asks me about my political position on abortion… I think I’m going to take at least 20 seconds to answer. I think I’m going to take 20 seconds and pray that we all turn to God and ask Him to guide us in His infinite wisdom… to the people that need His love today… and I think I’m going to take at least 20 seconds… and try to show that same love… by my actions… on His behalf.