40 Days of Life | Day 28 | Life and Church

For many of our forefathers, profession of Christian faith and opposing laws or practices that devalued life went hand in hand. Pro-life ministry is not a political cause for churches to take sides on, it’s the heart of the gospel!

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27 ESV)

This excerpt from Third Time Around by George Grant is a powerful reminder of the role that churches and individuals play in valuing every life. I hope it encourages you in the work you’re doing or challenges you to consider your role. The work is vast, and it takes all kinds!

“The pro-life position of the early church was not mere dogma. The patristics matched their rhetoric with reality. They worked hard and sacrificed dearly for the sake of life.

In Rome, Christians rescued babies that had been abandoned on the exposure walls outside the city - often illegally and at great risk to themselves. These foundlings would then be adopted and raised up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

In Corinth, Christians offered charity, mercy, and refuge to temple prostitutes who had become pregnant - again, standing against the tide of community expectations. These despised and exploited women were taken into homes where they could safely have their children and then get a fresh start on life.

In Poitiers, Christians cared for the poor, the sick and the lame in clinics and hostels. The church sacrificed its own personal peace and affluence by protecting and providing for those unwanted and dispossessed souls without partiality.

Clearly, Christians were not simply against child-killing. They were for life. Whenever and wherever the gospel went out, believers emphasized the priority of good works, especially works of compassion toward the needy. For the first time in human history, hospitals were founded, orphanages were established, rescue missions were started, almshouses were built, soup kitchens were begun, shelters were endowed, charitable societies were incorporated, and relief agencies were commissioned. The hungry were fed; the naked, clothed; the homeless, sheltered; the sick, nursed; the aged, honored; the unborn, protected; and the handicapped, cherished.

The heroes of the faith who demonstrated the grace of Christ through such deeds of kindness during the apostolic era were legion…

The pro-life message of the early church was a lifestyle. It was a commitment. It was a worldview. And, as a result, it made a deep and lasting impression on the whole civilized world. The minions of death were at last shaken from their tenure in the bastions of power and prestige. Even in those regions where the Christian faith never fully predominated, or where the gospel took root only to be supplanted later, the sanctity of life was grafted into the cultural conscience. Laws were changed. Traditions were uprooted. And lives were saved.”

40 Days of Life | Day 27 | The Patient

40 Days of Life | Day 25 | Redemption

40 Days of Life | Day 22 | Reproductive Rights

40 Days of Life | Day 20 | Fasting From Selfish Desires

40 Days of Life | Day 18 | Integrity

40 Days of Life | Day 16 | Sight for the Blind

40 Days of Life | Day 15 | Listen

40 Days of Life | Day 13 | Testimony

40 Days of Life | Day 12 | Value of Life

40 Days of Life | Day 10 | Real Belief

40 Days of Life | Day 9 | Love or Truth

40 Days of Life | Day 8 | Let Your Light Shine