What If ?
I know that you can’t go about life humming; “What If!”
Truth is reality, truth is, what is, is; and what ain’t, ain’t.
But, nevertheless I’m going to proceed with the question; What if, Mary had known about abortion; after all she was an unwed teenage mother.
When the angel Gabriel came to her and announced that she was going to bear a child (the Messiah) one does not have to be a Stephen King to imagine all the public uproar that would cause (Luke 1:26-38).
The dream of her marriage was immediately thrown on the ash pile. For when the news of her pregnancy reached the ears of her espoused husband, Joseph, he sought to put her away privately. It was only after Joseph was confronted by an angel himself that he decided to follow through on the marriage (Matthew 1:18-20). The shocking news of her pregnancy also cast a shadow of scandal over the good name her and her family. The scribes and Pharisees were quick to remind Jesus what they thought of his genealogy. (John 8:41)
But to put it more squarely, What if Mary did abort Jesus?
So many of the great institutions that now bless our major hospitals, and universities, and literacy and education for even the commonest person; capitalism and free enterprise, representative government, the separation of political powers, civil liberties, the abolition of slavery, righteous pilgrims who came to build a city-set-on-a-hill; the elevation of women, benevolence and charity, higher standards of justice, the elevation of the common man, the condemnation of adultery, homosexuality and other sexual perversions, which has helped spare the human race, as well as save many from great heartache, a high regard for human life, the civilizing of barbaric and primitive cultures, the codifying and putting to print many of the world’s languages, the inspiration for some of the world’s greatest pieces of art and music, the countless changed lives from liabilities to assets in society – all have their roots in the Judeo-Christian ethic. There would never have been a “We the people” constitution. We would never have broken out of the Dark Ages morally or physically. We would be ruled over by despots and civil wars would be our constant heritage rather than a beacon of hope to the world.
I like what the late W. A. Criswell once said when someone asked him, “Dr. Criswell, if an unwed mother were to tell you that her child was conceived by the Spirit without an earthly father, would you believer her?” Criswell replied, “Yes—if the birth of that child was foretold thousands of years before—and if when the Child was born the angels sang and the star of promise stood over the place where the Infant lay—and if when the Child were grown He had power over the wind and the waves and over disease and death—and if when He was slain, the third day He was raised from the dead—and if when He ascended to heaven His disciples through the centuries were numbered by the millions and increasing millions.”
It causes me to tremble when I think of the words of Jesus to Israel before it fell in AD 70 with the loss of over a million souls. “
”Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all” (Luke 11:51; See also Genesis 4:10, Rev. 6:10).
Considering that since 1973, over 55 million children have been aborted due to the Supreme Courts decision regarding Roe-vs.-Wade; what is waiting for our nation in the dark shadows of things yet to come. Man of steel Joseph Stalin is reported to have said, “A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.” A nation has indeed lost its soul when its leadership, as did atheistic Russia, treats human lives as mere statistics.
As heart-breaking as it would have been to Mary she would not have aborted her child to save herself from the personal pain of losing the person she loved so much, Joseph; nor to save herself from the public shame of her community. Here was a teen age girl who put the sanctity of human life above all personal gain or pain. I must not fail to mention the most important thing of all; there would have been no Savior of the world!
“Becaue He Lives We Shall Live Also.”
Pastor Bob