There are two things which the Lord has been putting increasingly on my heart for quite some time: light and 1.1M. Before you close out this window and see this as another one of my overly-inspired posts, keep reading. What I'm about to tell you is a story.
Once upon a time, in the land of Self-Absorption, there lived a princess named Meridian. When she was just a little girl, Meridian found out that her heavenly father was the king of everything, and that he took great delight in her, so much that he sent his son to die for her sins! She was so happy to discover this that she made him her king. But soon she grew up, and learned the ways of the people of Self-Absorption. She cared for nothing but her own glory, and to build her own wealth of knowledge. From time to time she would remember the king, and praise him for a season, but she never understood what it meant to truly serve him as a citizen of his kingdom.
After a while, Meridian met a wonderful friend who each time they met asked her not what her life was filled up with, nor what she succeeded in next, but rather where her heart was, if it was fully for the king. Some days it was, but most she'd avoid the question, talking about his love for the king, and not her own. But since the king was in charge of everything, he saw that his daughter didn't love him with her whole heart, and so he put friends into her life who did not love the king at all. Then Meridian began to try to make them love him, but most of them refused, and so she made new friends, who like her were half-heart citizens. Now more than ever, her life was about her, and nothing mattered except what concerned her. But soon she grew weary of this, and so began to look for approval from everyone she met. Teachers, friends, parents, strangers, whomever she might please. And still it wasn't enough. Tired of life as she had known it, seeking a greater purpose, Meridian talked to the king, and told him she needed something new.
So, her father in heaven and her earthly parents told her she might go to a gathering she thought would calm her storm within. Thousands of boys and girls flooded through the doors like a hurricane, and Meridian was one of them. There she found that she needed no approval from anyone but the king, and even so, all the people she wanted approval from already loved her in earnest. At that place, in that moment, the girl began to weep. Her approval came from the king, God, and he had loved her all along. Wanting with everything in her to please this king, and to give everything she had for his sake, she knelt and prayed, "Oh, God, how can you use me?" One of her close friends prayed with her, pleading the king to show his will.
And the very next day, a man spoke, and told how the king's great heart was full of love and passion for those who had no voice. And though the man spoke of widows and orphans and the poor, Meridian knew that there was another people who had no voice at all. The one thing Meridian always had a passion for, the single thing in which she perhaps did not think of herself, was in politics. In this realm she had always wished to hold a job, to have influence. And in this arena she knew that laws had been made which allowed millions of children to die every year, before they ever got to see the light. They had no voice. God had a heart for them. As the man was speaking, he asked for those who wished to help those without a voice, to come with him and pray. Out of the thousands who were there, only a few stepped forward. At first, Meridian stayed back. But then a voice cried out within her, "GO! This is where you must be. There is a need, it has not been met. There is darkness all around. There may be many voices calling out to save these lives, but they must be united through me. You must help unite them." Then, almost as though a wind picked her up from her seat, Meridian ran to the man, and there she prayed, and found that if she did not do what she had heard, her life would not meet its purpose.
Until that day, Meridian had always yearned in her heart for something to be so impressed upon her, that she could use her politics for. Ending death before life had always been a whisper in her ear,but one she did not believe she could truly follow. She thought she was too young, too powerless, and without any new ideas to bring to the table. Now, God gave her a vision of thousands of people coming to know him through something she could do, and as they saw him, the reality of the beauty of life being realized. And through this she came to see that God would be her strength and would give her whatever influence she needed; Lord willing, she knew that defeating abortion in her generation was a real possibility, with God on her side.
Yes, friends, that's my life in a nutshell. So, why are those two terms -- light and 1.1M -- important to me?
Light is referenced 277 times in the Bible. Most often it is used in contrast to darkness. My personal favorite verse about light is 1 Peter 2:9, "...but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may declare the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Isn't that beautiful? If you are in Christ, you are chosen. (Thus my last post). As a chosen one, you get to spread light wherever there is darkness. For me, the arena in which I want to focus my beacon, if you will, is ending abortion. 1.1 million is the number of babies aborted every year in the United States. 42 million is the number worldwide. Life is precious. It is a gift of God that no one can create, and as such, no one has a right to destroy (outside of the contexts of war/defense, and capital punishment). Abortion is ending lives in the name of women, yet in the process it is destroying little future women, and hurting the lives of those women who experience the "procedure."
Yet, God gives grace, and that's what I want to show. That's where my beacon of light must shine strong. At that conference ("gathering") I attended, one of the speakers gave us a challenge. It was the very last message, and I was *amazed* at how much it impacted me. What he told us may very likely change my life forever. His message was this: God doesn't want lukewarm people, but he does want to use each of his children. If he doesn't want us lukewarm, but he wants to use us, what does that mean? It can mean only one thing. In the words of the apostle Paul: So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. He doesn't say do some to the glory of God. He doesn't say do most to the glory of God. He says do ALL to the glory of God. Everything. The theme of the conference was, "All to Him." And indeed, that's what I want to give.
For this cause, and more ultimately for the sake of the Gospel, as far as I am able I am willing to give all my money, all my time, all my talents, all my energy, all my intellect, and all my passion for this cause.
A thought that struck me the other day, when I was sick, was the reality of how many children won't be able to get sick on account of abortion. On the surface a comforting thought, until you consider that those same children won't be able to make new inventions, write new songs, paint beautiful portraits, build businesses...they won't be able to bring glory to God. The Westminister Shorter Catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man?" And, as any student of theology knows, the answer is very clear: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." By ripping away lives, we are preventing new people from glorifying God. We ourselves are not glorifying him simply in this act. What if one of those children was the next Hudson Taylor? We'd never know, because they didn't have a chance to try.
Men really are endowed with rights. They are inalienable. And, as the framers of the Declaration so poignantly showed, the first among these is life. Only in life, earthly and spiritual, will anyone experience liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Praising God for his amazing grace,
Meridian.
