Sacred Life

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.
It's a day where the church acknowledges that life is important. Important to God, so it's important to us. We should value life as our God does.
So what does that mean?
We're PRO-Life.
But it seems like we're mostly against things and people, rather than pro anything.
What does PRO-Life mean, practically speaking?
We vote pro-life. (Check.)
We have a bumper sticker. (Check.)
That's about as extreme as most people get.
But where's the Pro?
What do we do FOR life? (That's what PRO means!)
Voting Pro-Life every four years is NOT ENOUGH.
We have to want more. We have to do more.
I fear our hearts are hardened, like the Israelites were, to the war going on around us for life. We are numb to the numbers. We're asleep. We're apathetic.
My heart was heavy and broken this morning in church for this reason.
We say we care. We're willing to debate Christians, non-Christians, co-workers, and classmates over this issue during an election year, but after we have cast our ballot, the fire dies. We're not changed. We're still just viewed as anti-things and not PRO anything.
This morning particularly, it struck me deeply. My brother and his family are in Ethiopia meeting their children for the first time. They spent their first day at the orphanage with Yeneneh and Sosy, and their other four kids. This was a monumental day in the life of our family.
Yesterday Yeneneh and Sosy were orphans. Today, they know they are no longer. (God knew all along!)
I looked at my boys in church with me, and the tears came again.
Thank you Jesus that my kids' birthmoms went to New Life and received the care, the mothering, the counsel, the encouragement they needed to endure an unplanned pregnancy and make the most selfless decision a mother can make.
Their lives are precious.
Would we have adopted had we not been believers? No. I'm sorry to say, no. Because the only thing good in us is Christ, and it's just too easy to stick to loving your own biological kids and not worry with loving someone else's.
So where does that leave the church at large, predominantly PRO-life, sleeping soldiers in a war we don't care nearly enough about.
Rusty and I are still asking God to search our hearts. How would He have us care for orphans? How would He have us further the good work He's already doing to save babies?
All we know right now is we love adoption. If He puts it in front of us again, we will say yes.
We love New Life, and other organizations doing the real battle. They are front line soldiers. I know what my Mom does in a day at New Life and it's legit. But they struggle financially, they don't have all the resources they need, families who want to adopt don't have the finances, and this is all just domestically speaking. We will continue to support New Life and adoptions like my brothers' family because life is precious.
I desperately hope the church wakes up. When we do, we will feel ashamed at our apathy, at large, and for saying with our mouths we are PRO something, but not following through with our lives.
I pray today is that day.