THINKING IN THE SPIRIT: September 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

THE SEEDS OF ABORTION

I am grieved over the reality of abortion in our midst. In America alone we have put to death nearly 60 million unborn babies since the Roe v. Wade supreme Court ruling in 1973. It is a little encouraging that the number of abortions each year has decreased significantly. I am sure that is largely because of protests of this insidious evil primarily by Christians.

However, I think it is important to note that simply making abortion illegal will not, in and of itself, solve the problem. That is because the seeds of abortion are much deeper than law. I believe one of the things that has helped to reduce the number of abortions in these later years has been the efforts made to help women deal with the crises that they face when they discover that they are pregnant. I also think we need to do more to help care for the needs of single mothers and others in difficult situations.

But none of these efforts will deal effectively with the root of the problem. Abortion arose en mass because of attitudes that have swept over us in the sexual revolution. We have lost all sense of the purpose and joy of sexual relations. In and out of marriage we have come to think of sexual relations as recreational activity. However, the primary purpose of sex is procreation. And children are the joy of sex. Of course, the immediate pleasure of sexual activity is a wonderful thing, but it is reduced tremendously as it is severed from its purpose.

We face a number of problems in dealing with this reality. What are our chances of making such a change in the thinking of our whole society? The realization of this overwhelms me. However, there are certainly things that we can do. We must continue to oppose abortion. And we can seek to reason with individuals in a world that may not wish to hear about our values. It may be more important to redouble our efforts to teach a more godly mindset to our children and those who come to Christ in our midst. Compassion calls us to increase our efforts to minister particularly to women and children in crisis.

And consistent prayer for our society and our world is essential to bring about transformation on a wholesale basis. This problem goes back further than the sexual revolution. Its seeds go back to the sin of man in the Garden of Eden. Its terrible fruit can be seen in every generation from the beginning of the world. Without extraordinary prayer our efforts will be futile in trying to stop the title wave of public opinion. Nothing short of radical revival or a new heaven and a new earth will change what we face.

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Sunday, September 6, 2020

ARE YOU SATISFIED?

Have you discovered the truth of this statement by Jesus in the Bible?

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again.”

Whatever you are living for will not satisfy or fulfill. You may think, if you just had a faster car, a nicer house and bigger toys, you would have what you want. It is more likely that you are reaching for bigger things like success and power or love and family. But in fact, these things do not bring the satisfaction that we long for either.

Some of you are still more optimistic than this. If you long for a mate and family, it is difficult to believe that will not fulfill all your needs. Some of you are striving for some goal that consumes you. You may be working on a college degree. You may be striving for success in your business or your job. You may be an athlete trying to move up in the competition.

There is nothing wrong with these things in and of themselves. But none of these are ultimate. They will not bring ultimate satisfaction.

I suspect many of you have come to agree with Jesus, and you are now trudging through life without hope of fulfillment. Your heart is souring in cynicism. You may blame yourself, saying something like, if I had just done this or done that, or had not done something, I would be happier. You may blame circumstances in this fallen world. You may be bitter at other people who failed you or harmed you intentionally.

Even if you reach all your goals, if you get what you long for most, you will still have an internal emptiness. You long for something that is beyond the satisfactions of this world.

The fuller context of what Jesus said offers hope for our thirsty hearts.

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 4:13-14