Pro-Life Jesus
Author: Mark Fenstermacher
May 06, 2022
A young friend has a favorite place. It’s a place she visits when she wants to be renewed, and recover from the stresses of life. So, now and then, she makes her way back to Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah.
There are passages of the Bible that, just as Arches National Park renews, restores, and “anchors” my friend, remind me of the deep truths of God. One of these is John 10:10. Those in the church I serve have heard me mention this text many times: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
I thought of that verse as our nation continues the intense debate over abortion/reproductive rights (some would use the phrases “pro-choice” and “pro-life”).
Jesus was always pro-life. That is not my way of announcing that Jesus was in all cases against abortion, but it is my way of saying that Jesus was always trying to help people live their best lives. He wanted the demon-possessed man, who lived out in the cemetery, to be made well. He wanted the Samaritan woman to know God and move beyond the shame of her past failed relationships with men. He wanted the blind man to see. He wanted children to feel loved, welcomed, and valued.
Jesus spoke against greed, hate, religious fundamentalism, and all other forces that would diminish the fullness of our God-given life. Jesus was always for life.
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Here are a few thoughts that may be helpful to some of you about this ongoing debate (from a Christian pastor’s perspective):
First, many rules can be true and good, helping life be full, in many but not all situations. Over and over again (see the woman caught in adultery in John 8) Jesus addresses rules accepted as absolute by the Jews, and adapts them by saying “but I say to you.” Jesus recognizes that “one size doesn’t fit all” when it comes to holy codes or commandments in different situations. A core truth can be lived out in different ways in different situations. This is also true when it comes to the question of abortion/reproductive rights.
I have prayed for women whose unborn child would never be viable because of severe abnormalities, and who would suffer greatly if delivered at full term. I have encouraged couples not to end a pregnancy out of convenience but to carry the child to term. God’s desire for abundant life, in each situation, seemed to call for a different course of action.
Second, the closer you get to the issue the more complicated it may turn out to be. My experience with women and their partners, who are considering the termination of a pregnancy, is that the decision is difficult beyond words. It is intensely personal. An aunt of mine, a devout Roman Catholic, refused to end a pregnancy although warned of the danger of carrying the child to term. Complications from the pregnancy contributed to her death and she left behind three young children. A friend who is a retired OB-GYN, and who happens to be both conservative politically and a disciple of Jesus, has shared with me the complexities of this issue from the medical side.
Third, pro-life means not only respecting the life of the unborn child or fetus, but it also means respecting the life and well-being of the woman who is pregnant.
Fourth, the United Methodist Church has long held a position that respects unborn life, sees abortion as a last option in the most extreme cases, and yet affirms this to be a personal and private decision on the part of the woman and her partner. The UMC statement is not a perfect position on this difficult and complex issue, but it is born out of prayer, a study of scripture, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and our experience as a community.
Fifth, wherever we stand on this incredibly challenging issue, let us live out our identity as Jesus followers as people who love. This should be true when we are engaged in conversation with those who think differently. Jesus gave us a commandment to love one another. Ist John says if we don’t love the neighbor we see then we cannot pretend to love the God who we cannot see.
Work to listen.
Work to respect those who differ from you on this subject.
Work to remember that none of us has all the answers.
Work to remember that this supposedly clear, black-and-white issue is really quite complicated when you get down into the reality of everyday human life.
One of the gifts we can offer one another is to operate out of love even when the conversations are difficult.
God wants the fullness of life for the woman who is pregnant. God wants the fullness of life for unborn life. So what do you do when the life of one threatens to undo the life of the other?
One of the Wesleyan rules says “do no harm” and the other says “do good.” I pray you will remember this as you live through this chapter when this difficult question is so much before us.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Mark
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