This week, I read a news story that hurt my heart. Maddi Runkles, a high school senior from Maryland, will not be allowed to walk for graduation at her Christian school because she is pregnant. This has rightfully caused a stir in the pro-life community because Maddi chose life for her baby. Shouldn't that be celebrated instead of punished? What broke my heart was when Runkles said,
"'Some pro-life people are against the killing of unborn babies, but they won’t speak out in support of the girl who chooses to keep her baby,” she said. “Honestly, that makes me feel like maybe the abortion would have been better. Then they would have just forgiven me, rather than deal with this visible consequence.'”
That should shake us up as Christians who call ourselves pro-life. No girl should feel this way about keeping her baby because of how she is treated by those who call themselves followers of Christ. Yes, as Christians, we believe that sex outside of marriage is sin. Becoming pregnant is a consequence of that sin, but it is not a curse. Rather, I see that little life as God's grace in the midst of sin's consequences. Maddi Runkles does, too. She's naming her son Grayson because of that. In another article, she said "'Grace means getting what you don’t deserve,' she said. 'I don’t deserve to have a baby, but through all of this, that’s what I’ve been given — the blessing of the baby.'" Can we call ourselves pro-life if girls like Maddi only feel shame when they keep their baby because of how we treat them?
Students for Life wrote that, "According to the Guttmacher Institute, a majority of women who have abortions identify with a Christian denomination. Another study revealed that more than 40% of women who had an abortion reported that they were actively attending a church, and of those, 76% said that their church had no influence on their decision to abort." What does that say about us as the Church? Are we harming women by our self-righteousness just as much as abortion providers do?
I can't help but think of Jesus and the adulterous woman. The Pharisees come to Jesus with this woman who has committed adultery and say the Law has commanded us to stone her. What do you say? Jesus says, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). No one throws a stone. They had to be honest with themselves, and we need to be too. None of us has a right to condemn our neighbor. Only Jesus has the right to condemn for sin because He is absolutely sinless. And do you know what He does? John writes, "Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more" (John 8:10-11). Scott Sauls states, "The order of these two sentences is everything. Reverse the order of these two sentences and you’ll lose Christianity. Reverse the order and you’ll lose Jesus." How can we condemn anyone if Jesus doesn't? Why should we condemn someone for choosing grace in the midst of sin's consequences?
I hope that if someone I knew was single and pregnant that they wouldn't be ashamed for me to know because of how I'd react. Oh how I want for us to react like Jesus for every sinner, both publican and pharisee, because "He gives more grace" (James 4:6). Shouldn't we?
