Abstinence, Accidents, and Amazing Grace

Last week, my oldest brought a mechanical baby home as part of his course of study in FACS (Family and Consumer Science). Now, I totally took advantage of the situation, documenting the event with pictures and humorous captions I posted on social media. My excitement was through the roof. Why? Three reason.

First, even though this lesson was for my son, God was using it to speak to me.

Second, because my son is not overly fond of small offspring and for him to be the sole caretaker of one, even for a few days, just tickles my funny bone.

Third, I chose to use that humor as a tool, hopefully embarrassing him enough that he’ll remain abstinent until he’s 50!

 Okay, that may be a touch dramatic, but nevertheless, the sense of the statement remains. One of the points of having to simulate the care of a newborn with feeding, diapering, rocking, and burping is to encourage abstinence in these young adults by showing them exactly what they’re up against when their few minutes of pleasure turns into a lifelong commitment.

Which leads me to the point of this whole post… What if, after all the conversations, all the biblical (1 Thess. 4:3,7) and moral teachings about why abstinence until you’re married is so vital, and an  “accident” happens? When a new life, who didn’t asked to be conceived to two underage, unwed, far from ready children, becomes a reality? It begs the question, how would I/will I/should I respond, not just as a parent who finds themselves in that situation, but foremost as a Christian.

First, I think we, as Christian parents and adults need to step outside of that role and remember that since our salvation, our titles as mother/father, friend, and family member, come only second to that as Child of God. Any and all reactions to the situation should be dealt with as such; offering compassion, love, and amazing grace that Jesus so freely bestowed and demonstrated for us all. We need to remember that as Christians, our actions are what both pull people to God and push them away!

In my opinion, it is this lack of Christian empathy, understanding, and sin-filled sense of superiority (your sin is worse than my sin- mentality) that has allowed the evil of Satan, in the form of abortion clinics like Planned Parenthood to gain such a foothold in our society.

Why is that?

It’s because we have failed! Those of us who call ourselves Christians have failed! Those of us who claim a place in the church and among God’s family, have failed!

Sure, Satan has been hard at work destroying the foundation of family for years (just look at Adam and Eve), but for the love of all that is holy, we Christians have been his cohorts in crime for centuries.

Those of us who have remained silent by choosing to live out our faith in private instead of public- allowing legislation that legalizes murder to be passed. Those of us whose damming silence and dirty looks push that young girl into ending the life she carries because she cares more for the thoughts of strangers than for that baby. Those of us who choose condemnation over compassion by destroying the support system that that young girl should be able to depend on, leaving her nowhere to turn. Or those who refuse to step into the role of supporting parent instead choosing to save face and encourage the “easy way” out. Those of us women who ARE old enough to support a new life on our own, yet too selfish to take responsibility for our actions and put the needs of a small life ahead of our own needs/wants by placing them with a well chosen family who would love for nothing more than to open their hearts and homes to the life you would kill.

We’ve deluded ourselves and society into thinking that these “accidents” have to be remedied, instead of seeing them for what they are. A part of God’s plan!

Now, I am not condoning, nor encouraging teenage/unplanned pregnancy no matter the age- all I am doing is trying to look at a reoccurring situation from a godly point of view. God wants us to practice abstinence and remain celibate until marriage, but in his His infinite foresight, He knows many of us will CHOOSE not too. Understanding this, let me ask you a question. Does God make mistakes? We call unplanned pregnancies “accidents”, refer to some these babies as “whoops babies”. But are they really?

To answer this question, we need to have a clear understanding of God, who He is and what He is capable of.

In 2 Samuel 22:31, David proclaims, “As for God, His way is perfect.”

Psalm 29:4- “The voice of the LORD is powerful ; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.”

Psalm 147:5- “Great is our LORD, and of great power: His understanding is infinite”

If any man made mistakes in his life, it was David!

Deuteronomy 32:4- “He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.”

Nehemiah 9:6- “Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are there in, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.”

By now, you should be realizing that even though we make mistakes, God doesn’t. He’s not capable of it. The same God who created the stars, the heavens, and the angels, created you, me, and those “accidents”.

So the next time we come across an unwed/underage parent, or find ourselves in a similar situation (or even dissimilar situation), we need to remember…

God doesn’t make mistakes; He makes witnesses.

He created us to be witnesses of His love, to testify of His amazing grace, to embody His message of forgiveness, compassion, and exhortation. To bring other to Him so that they may have eternal life. Our actions reflect our testimony and it is by our actions that not only could a physical life be saved, but a spiritual life as well.