Responding Kindly . . . Not In-Kind

Walking in the Truth 

A few devotional thoughts to begin . . . 

My last devotional was titled "Walking in the Truth at a Funeral, Part I." My intention was for my next devotional to be titled, "Walking in the Truth at a Funeral, Part II." Well, then Lois & I attended the Lutheran Education Association Triennium Convocation in Grand Rapids, MI, OCT 12-15. 
      Coincidentally(?) one morning the the readings in "Treasury of Daily Prayer," one of the sources for my daily quiet time, fit so neatly into the theme of Christian education, that I decided to postpone funeral talk & engage in some talk about nurturing the faith of little people . . . 
      Until our drive home on SUN  10/16. We found ourselves engaged in a Facebook conversation because of a link to an article by John Pavlovitz, "White, Conservative Friends--I Wish You Really Were Pro-Life," published on The Huffington Post. [Sorry...I couldn't find a time stamp. Actually, Lois read it to me while I was taking a turn driving back from the Convocation. I referred back to the link & skimmed it only briefly.] 
      After much discussion between ourselves, prayer, & scripturally-guided meditation, which included searching for the Truth of Scripture to inform my devotional thoughts, I decided to go for Devotional Plan #3. I pray that it's a devotional that glorifies God & edifies others, including myself.

Walking in the Truth of Scripture

"The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.'"  Jeremiah 1:4-5

"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully & wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14

"People were also bringing babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'"  Luke 18:15-17

(Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."  John 10:10

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ."  Ephesians 4:15

Some Devotional Thoughts for Today

Who is my audience? That was the first question I wrestled with, because as a poor, sinful being, my first reaction to the article was to fire back "with a vengeance." I came up w/the title of this devotional fairly easily & wrote many notes while we traveled. [Lois was driving when I wrote notes, just to reassure you. She contributed many ideas, also to reassure you.] By the time we got home on Sunday, I was ready to write. She left for Lincoln later that same day; I wrote my devotional that same day . . . 

. . . but didn't post it, because . . . 

. . . because I ultimately was left feeling that I was responding IN-KIND instead of responding KINDLY. My original devotional was SUPPOSEDLY aimed at fellow pro-lifers, but some of my proof-texts & devotional thoughts were aimed directly at those in what many of us would consider the pro-choice camp. 

• I didn't post the devotional that evening. 
• I didn't post it on MON 10/17. 
• Here it is SAT 10/22. 
• I gave myself almost a full week to ponder & pray about my approach.

Not that we do NOT have an obligation to "speak the truth in love," but "true believers" of any "truth" are rarely moved by words of retaliation--rarely moved by arguments of logic or reasoning--rarely IF EVER moved to a true change of heart by words of Law. When confronted by the Law, our most common reactions are:

• Despair. "I can't possibly live up to YOUR expectations, let alone God's expectations, so what's the use. I give up. Why even try?"
• Self-righteousness. This was the Pharisee's problem, remember? "I thank God that I'm not like those sinners, the tax collectors. [If you work for the IRS, I'm just using a parable from Scripture as an illustration. Some of my best friends are tax collectors. Seriously!] *
• Anger & defiance. "Who are YOU to judge ME?! How DARE you tell ME how to live MY life!"

* As I reflect back on my life as a "pro-lifer," I sadly confess that there was a time when I wasn't a pro-choicer, but I was "ignorant & apathetic."

I have a feeling this author was preaching to HIS choir. I think my audience also involves preaching to the choir, & so my topic is "Responding Kindly . . . Not In-Kind."

Which is a very, very hard thing for me to do, by the way. I'd much rather respond "In-Kind," that is, by stereo-typing pro-choice proponents & calling them to repentance. I mean, after all, they can't argue abortion on the basis of biology. Everyone knows that human life begins at conception, don't they? And abortion can't seriously be argued on the basis of ethics, can it? If you think it's OK to abort a baby because it's life is less important than the needs of the mother or the needs of society or "I'm the person who gets to decide whether that baby should live or die," well, if you're a student of history, the 20th century on into the 21st century is awash in the blood of tyrannical regimes who slaughtered millions by the same reasoning.

Uh-oh . . . here I go. I'm starting to slide down the slippery slope of judging another person's faith by his/her outward actions. Am I really, truly "speaking the truth in love?"

I fear that I'm starting to get a little preachy, so I'll try to sum up what I think I want to say to the choir I think I'm preaching * to, & move on. Here goes . . .
* Poor choice of words. I genuinely want to share some thoughts with you, that fire them at you. My bad.]

• In my original devotional, I followed with a list of apologetical & scriptural "reasoning" to "slap down" pro-choice" proponents. Ultimately I deleted all of that. Why? I came to the conclusion that I was more interested in preaching damnation than trying to change hearts. If you're Lutheran--& even if you're not--you hopefully subscribe to the theology that claims that a true change of heart is only possible through the Gospel. The Law may curb sinful behavior. It may show us our sins & give us guidelines for holy living, but only the Gospel points us to a loving Savior who has the power to forgive & save . . . US ALL!
• I have very mixed feelings about telling anybody that I am praying for them & leaving it go at that. Why? The message I MIGHT be sending is this:  "I am righteous. You are not righteous. You are bad & don't know what is right, so I am praying for God to have mercy on your soul & teach you what is right." Once again, I seriously doubt whether that message works to change hearts . . . 
• And that's not the message I want to give. 
• My prayer is first of all for myself--remembering to love others, not just as myself but as Jesus loves me.
• And Jesus loved me--He loves ALL of us--so much that He died for us in SPITE of our reckless abandon of ALL of God's Laws, not just those we choose to highlight. ["For all have sinned & fall short . . . "] **
• Secondly, I pray for women who find themselves pregnant & desperate--who can't see any solution other than an abortion. I pray that somehow, some way they learn about crisis pregnancy centers like Birthright, where they can get neo-natal & post-natal care for themselves & their babies. I pray that they would be influenced by pro-life people who support them & do not "cast the first stone" ** at them.
• Thirdly, I pray for women--& men--who suffer from post-abortion trauma . . . a HUGE untold story. These are people suffering from the guilt of participating in the death of their unborn children. They need to know that there is a Savior who loves them, who died to forgive & save them. They need to know that it is God who gives them dignity. Their dignity does NOT depend on their choices. It's all about grace. "For it is by grace that we are saved through faith--and that not of ourselves! It is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. [As I reflected further about this, I realized that this could also hold true for those who have aided in the abortion of unborn babies.]
• Finally, I pray that Jesus would bless me with opportunities to "speak the truth in love" to those who need to hear God-given--Holy Spirit- guided TRUTH & love. I pray that He would "break my heart of stone & give me a heart of love alone" toward those whom He loves, even while I struggle in my sinful nature to love them . . . & I pray that "He would have ALL people come to the knowledge of THE TRUTH" [not Paul Leckband's "truth"--HIS Truth] . . . & BE SAVED." **
• May Jesus Christ bless you with the peace that only He can bring. May He bless you with the joy of His salvation.

** I think I'm doing you a favor by letting you look up some of these scriptural references & praying your own prayer from your heart today. Amen? Amen!