A Way Out For Those Who Have Had Abortions
I've recently been writing a lot on FaceBook on a topic I absolutely despise: abortion. I hate the topic because of what the word "abortion" means. Just out of curiosity, I looked up that word on the liberal "free encyclopedia" known as Wikipedia. Here is the definition found there:
"Abortion is the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability."
"Abortion, when induced in the developed world in accordance with local law, is among the safest procedures in medicine."
These are just two quotes from the entry about abortion on that site. I used them to reveal the deception that is at the core of every pro-abortion argument, protest or opinion.
First, there is the idea that what is killed in an abortion is not a baby. Note that the terms "fetus" and "embryo" are used instead of "baby". If I plant tomato seed and at any time I dig it out or mutilate the plant I have stopped that seed from becoming what it is designed to be. In that seed IS a tomato plant and aborting its life aborts what it is destined to be.
In every seed fertilized by human intercourse is a baby. That is a baby when it is a fetus and it is a baby when it is an embryo. Killing it prior to it being considered a baby legally does not change the fact that left unmolested that human being will emerge as a human baby.
Second, there is the lie that abortion is ever a safe procedure. Whenever a woman pays someone to perform an abortion in her womb at least one person dies - the baby. Sometimes the woman will also die soon thereafter from the effect of the abortion on her body. It's NEVER a safe medical procedure.
I write and speak a lot about the reality of abortions. I speak frankly about how the babies are killed for the convenience of the parent(s) and for the profit of the people who work in the abortuaries. I speak about the reality that every time an abortion is done, a child dies a horrible death and feels it. I speak about how women can become infected or hemorrhage and die from abortions. I speak about how statistics prove that women who have abortions have a heightened chance of later having cancer because of the abortions.
I will not debate any of these facts. That is not the purpose of this article.
I also frankly speak about how abortion is the modern day worship of the demonic "god" Molech. Molech was worshiped in antiquity and still is today in abortion mills through the sacrifice of babies for the profit of the priests of Molech and the convenience of the parents of those babies. This is supported by recent accounts in the Texas State Capital of pro-abortion protesters planning violent acts against people who love babies and their chanting things like "Hail satan" and "F the church." This all sounds demonically inspired to me.
I will not debate this either. That, too, is not the purpose of this article.
My point thus far is that I'm very obviously against the idea of ever killing a child of any age for any reason and I've been vocal about this. It occurred to me today, though, that reading my thoughts on these things might give the impression that I hate people who enjoy the idea of a woman's right to kill her baby. Indeed, many of us pro-life people have been accused of such a thing. It's to be expected since deception is a big part of satan's nature.
Years ago I served on the board of directors for a group in greater Houston, TX that provided care and support for people who had used abortion to terminate their babies' lives for all sorts of reasons. Ministering with these people I came to understand that when the Lord allowed those pregnancies to begin the parents were given grace to be parents. I believe the Bible teaches something I call "specific grace."
God issues specific grace for specific tasks and roles in our life. It is the mechanism by which He imparts the dunamis (ability) power that He speaks of through Paul in verses like this one:
“…of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.” (Ephesians 3:7)
The father is given "daddy grace" and the mother is given "mommy grace." This is God's supply for them to do anything it will ever take to raise that baby. However, because the law of the land says it is ok to pay someone to kill the baby in the USA many parents receive that supply from God and it is never tapped.
It is estimated that since abortion was legalized some 56 million babies have been killed in this country alone. That translates to 112 million parents (if we ignore the fact that many people use the killing of babies as a form of birth control), 224 million grandparents and countless brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc. who receive specific grace for babies that have never had a chance to take their first breath.
These are all designed by God to grieve the death. What happens in the human souls of all these people is that they DO grieve. However, being lied to by abortion providers and told that these are not babies, but blobs of tissue instead, prevents them from being able to connect the dots between the unrest in their souls and the deaths of the babies that causes the unrest. Its like a person stabbing themselves with an ice pick but being told that there was no injury. Eventually the soul will pay the bill for the lie and for the sin of taking the innocent life of the child.
"Thou shalt not kill." (Exodus 20:13)
This familiar verse is most correctly translated in English as "You must never take innocent human life." Murder is sin and sin costs the human soul. So, in the case of those who are duped into paying someone else to kill their child(ren) the parents will suffer grief and guilt. It seems that parents of aborted children can hide this from their own souls for a period of time but that after 20 years or so, if not sooner, the trauma they put into their own souls by killing their babies leaks out. This affects fathers as well as mothers.
The mental health field has identified this and has labeled it "Post Abortion Stress Syndrome" (PASS) which is a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some of the many symptoms that can emerge (often a long time after the abortion) include: Guilt, anxiety, avoiding children or pregnant women, feeling “numb”, depression, thoughts of suicide, anniversary reminders, experiencing the abortion again, fear of infertility, unable to bond with present or future children, fear that future children will die, eating disorders, alcohol and drug abuse. (A more detailed list can be had by request.)
That list of symptoms doesn't make abortion sound like it is "is among the safest procedures in medicine" as the Wikipedia entry said it was, does it?
Compassion:
Being direct about the reality of abortion and its effect on people does not mean that I do not have compassion for those who have been a part of this.
My point for sharing this information about PASS is that, thanks to the efforts of so-called Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion entities, there is a steadily growing population of people who are the "walking wounded" concerning their souls. Not only are they (for the most part) lost and hell-bound but their souls are hurt badly by the decisions they made to have their babies killed through abortion.
In fact, you or someone you know might have had or bought an abortion or lost a child in an abortion. In my years of ministry I have cared for many who have confessed to me that they have done or experienced this. I've witnessed their pain and grief and guilt and I've often wept with them because of it.
I want you to know that I do not hate you for any part you may have had in an abortion and I am convinced that the Lord Jesus does not hate you either.
We Christians would do well to understand that people who have had abortions are also victims of the abortions. They have been deceived into thinking it wasn't really a baby, that this was a good option and that it wouldn't cost them anything beyond the cost of the abortion fees. As a result their babies have died and they are grieving that loss. For them, it often seems like a hopeless situation - that there is no way the damage they have done can be undone.
There is no such thing as hopelessness when Jesus is involved.
There is a way out for those who have had abortions. In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the Way" and it is only through Jesus that one can get to the Father in heaven. It is the Father that will forgive our sins and heal our souls.
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
The Way Out:
I suggest that those who have had abortions and want to be free of the effects of abortion should turn to a seasoned Christian who loves them as Jesus loves people. That Christian can lead you to wholeness in Christ.
The basis of all forgiveness and for everything good that happens in a Christian's life is that Jesus is the Lord of his life. I said earlier that, "There is no such thing as hopelessness when Jesus is involved" and that is true. The inverse is true too: without Jesus there is no hope. Speaking of Christians prior to becoming Christians, the Apostle Paul said this:
"that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." (Ephesians 2:12)
The "way out" is the way into Jesus. The first step, then, would be receive Jesus as your Lord by asking Him to be Lord of your life.
The next step would be to agree with God that abortion is sin and that this sin has taken a toll on your life and your soul, as all sin always does. To change your mind about anything and bring it into agreement with God is really what the word "repent" means.
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. " (Acts 3:19)
In 2 Corinthians 7:10 Paul says this: "...godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation ".
That word "salvation" in this verse refers to the healing and restoration of one's mind, will and emotions - in other words, his soul. For parents who have had abortions and who have received Jesus as Lord this means that the sorrow they have been feeling for years can cause them to agree with God about how bad abortion is and that it is sin. This in turn will lead to the restoration and healing of their souls.
The next step would be to ask for and receive God's forgiveness for sins, in particular, for the abortion(s).
"Confess your trespasses (sins) to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails (accomplishes) much. " (James 5:16)
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
When we acknowledge our sins, even abortion, God will forgive them.
There seem to be two steps that are often missing when it comes to the healing of souls and bodies. One is that we must ask to be healed. James 4:2 says this toward the end of the verse:
"... you do not have because you do not ask."
The other often missing ingredient is that we must have the faith to receive the healing.
"This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, 'Stand up straight on your feet!' And he leaped and walked." (Acts 14:9-10)
The man's face reflected his anticipation that he would he healed. He believed that Jesus would do this for him and he trusted that it would happen. For the parent who is suffering in his or her soul because of an abortion, perhaps years ago....the same can be true.
If this is you, I want to ask you a question that Jesus once asked a man who was sitting in a place known for healing: "Do you want to be made well?"
The presence of Jesus is the place known for healing. You can find that in my office, in the office of virtually any Crisis Pregnancy Center, in the offices of Christian abortion recovery ministries, in the offices of Bible believing Christian ministers and in the kitchens, living rooms and dens of Christian neighbors all across the land.
Do you want to be made well? You don't have to keep suffering like this. Turn to Jesus and allow Him to save you, forgive you and heal you.
To my Christian brothers and sisters, I will close with this: I hate abortion and the abortion industry but I do not hate those who have abortions, pay for abortions or perform abortions.
I grieve for them.
Our Jesus told us that the second great commandment was to "love your neighbor as you love yourself" (Matthew 22:39).
That person in your area and that relative who had an abortion are your neighbors. Those people standing near you at abortion protests wearing orange shirts, chanting "hail satan" and threatening to throw jars of feces on you because you love babies - they are your neighbors too.
Hate the sin; love the sinner.
Its time we "Jesus" those people and, in doing so, He will build the Kingdom of God in and through them.
An abortion does not begin when a person pays their money and lies on a table somewhere. An abortion starts in the heart of a person who thinks that killing a baby is the answer to whatever it is they think they need. Only heart change will stop abortion and only Jesus can do that.
I hope this was an encouragement to you.
Pastor Mike McInerney
Mike McInerney Ministries, Inc.
Decatur, Texas
© July 13, 2013
(For use with permission)