The following is contributed by guest blogger and abolitionist, Jeremiah Smedra
This past Saturday, during the San Francisco Walk for Life, I had the opportunity to experience what is really going on beneath the veneer of our society. The eye-opening experience solidified for me the truth that American Christians are afraid of reality – they are salt without taste – they are light under a bushel.
A brother has well said, “society doesn’t care if you are proLife as long as you keep it to yourself.” Brethren, stop keeping it to yourself and start living for eternity! If you will walk by faith in the power of God and His Holy Spirit in you, God will make you salt and light in a dark world. He will use you as a worker, as a warrior, to fight evil in His name.
I used to think that graphic abortion imagery was okay for those who felt led to use that approach, but it just wasn’t my thing. Through exposure to Don’s work and efforts, I quickly realized that protesting abortion without using pictures is meaningless. To many people, abortion is a political issue … it is an argument about rights … it is a mere word with letters on a sign. It isn’t the slaughter of innocent children. That is what the pictures change. When you see the images, you cannot hide from the truth of abortion.
We had two different experiences on Saturday. The first was the relatively mild, sometimes heated, nominally intellectual engagement with the public. We preached the gospel, showed prenatal video, and spoke out against abortion. This was an exciting experience with real visible fruit.
And then there was the darker side…the face of evil unleashed. When the graphic video played on the screen with God’s Word woven in, some people were greatly disturbed and shocked. Some turned away in disgust. Some stood and watched it over and over in a daze. I don’t really understand why … I think they were struggling to process the experience. And many people got angry … more than angry, they spat out their vile hatred toward the messengers of truth. It seemed to me that the more the imagery played, the more angry the abortion lovers became.
I watched one woman over the course of an hour go from shocked and disgusted, to mad and yelling, to dancing – celebrating the video. She saw the evil she believed in, processed it, and embraced it. This is why the video alone won’t solve the problem. You must include the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even the Israelites sacrificed their children to the fire of Molech. They had the imagery in real life and still chose to murder their children (Jeremiah 32:35). The lost will – in time – get comfortable with the graphic imagery. Take the Gospel of Jesus Christ out of the message, and for some, you are just hurrying this process of hardening hearts.
Usually, people won’t show you who they really are, but Saturday the graphic images of abortion caused so much emotional turmoil and rage, that I saw stark reality. The abortion advocates hate God and they hate Christians. They hate you and me because we love them, are calling their choices sin, and are telling them to repent.
People were frothing at the mouth mad. They were screaming … “kill you Christians!!!” … “leave our city!!!” And all we were doing was patiently showing them the images…the truth of their own choices…and calling them to repent and turn to Jesus Christ. I even saw one man screaming with all his might, spit spewing forth from his mouth, “KILL YOUR GOD! KILL YOUR GOD!”
It was a very intense experience, which words are inadequate to express. At times I didn’t know what to say or do. I could only pray for the crowd or mouth the words “God loves you” as one of our team admonished the people to repent from the microphone.
Another woman confronted me later in a quieter place and shared that she was 60+ years old and had had an abortion when she was 17. She said it was a bad situation; a bad person; a mistake. And she had this abortion and had lived her whole life and never thought about it and never worried about it and was never upset about it. But she said we had to stop showing the images and talking about abortion … it was causing her to feel guilty. I shared with her that we could stop showing the video and talking about abortion, but that only blood of Jesus Christ could cleanse her of her guilt. Amazing! Can you believe that opportunity?!
The volunteers that took the microphone to speak to the crowd are not impressive in a worldly sense. They aren’t faster, stronger, taller, better looking, smarter, more experienced, or generally more capable than other men and women. They are not in and of themselves great orators and speakers. They are followers of Jesus that are committed to living out their faith in a meaningful way and are willing to be used by Him … and you can see the power of God in them as they stand for Him in the face of open hatred and condemnation for the God we serve and obey.
Some of you are wondering if you would be able to go do what we did. I am no different than you – except that I chose to go. Don’t believe your anxiety – ignore the apprehension you feel in your gut. Stand up for the God you serve. If YOU go, YOU will fail. But if you choose to make yourself available to serve our King, HE will give you unimaginable strength and power that will change the way you live and your testimony in this world.
And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Acts 5:41
For days I’ve been fired up … excited … more on fire for Jesus Christ than usual. I understand why Peter and the apostles went away rejoicing after suffering shame for Jesus. I know what it means to see the hatred that inspired the people to murder Christ.
You can tell yourself that evil is in the world. You can tell yourself that there is a spiritual war out there, and we are in the battle. But when the veneer comes off right in front of you (as the graphic video produced in people of San Francisco on Saturday), you will see what is really going on under the surface. You will see that we must all be ready to stand for the name of Jesus Christ in a lost world.
Throw off the shackles of a dead church! Stop arguing about your theology! Go live out the pure religion of James 1:27. Minister to the broken and call the lost to repentance. Today.
May God bless you.