“We must show love where love right now doesn’t exist…My request today is simple. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Find somebody, anybody, that’s different than you. Somebody that has made you feel ill-will or even [gulp…] hateful. Somebody whose life decisions have made you uncomfortable. Somebody that you, until now, would always avoid, always look down on, and always be disgusted by. Reach your arm out and put it around them. And then… Tell them you love them. If you or I wanna make a change in this world, that’s where we’re gonna be able to do it. That’s where we’ll start. Every. Single. Time.” -Dan Pearce.
Oh no! That can’t be right! I couldn’t possibly love everyone. I mean, think of all the despicable people in this world. Child molesters. Thieves. Drug Dealers. And the worst of all… Planned Parenthood workers. Just the sound of their name makes me angry. I shudder at the thought of them “counseling” desperate mothers who don’t realize the utter beauty of the young life they feel forced to kill. I cringe when I watch videos of them taking advantage of women, laughing about underage prostitution and allowing illegal sex-selected abortions. I am outraged when I hear their “Pro-Woman” claims, because they don’t know or see or deal with the pain a woman feels after her child was murdered. By them. How am I supposed to love someone who hurts women, kills the innocent and promotes a culture of death? Why would I reach out with love to a person who brings sorrow to women I care for? And honestly, why should I have to?
Change.
Yep, that’s right. For change in our world. If we want to see a change in this culture of death we are living in, we are going to have to show them a culture of love. Love to women who have had abortions, who will have abortions and those who support abortions. Love to government officials who don’t seem to want an end to abortion, no matter how many letters we write or phone calls we make. Love to our President, who has broken our trust and attacked our religious freedom. And as hard as it may be, love to abortion doctors and workers. “We must show love where love right now doesn’t exist.” Love doesn’t exist within the walls of an abortion clinic. Inside those walls are broken people. And I’m not just talking about pre and post abortive women. I’m talking about the workers and doctors. Whether they realize it or not, their lives are being affected by the abortions they are providing. Sooner or later, they’re going to be hurting. And as difficult as it may be, we need to pray for them. We need to counsel them. We need to show the heart of Jesus Christ through our compassion and concern for them. We need to do as Jesus does, and love them.
How are we supposed to expect abortionists to stop working for Planned Parenthood if we are just going to judge them, call them names, and hate them? It is so vital for abortion providers to open up to us so we can help them find a way out of the death trap they are working in. They aren’t going to open up to people full of hatred and judgement. Who would? And they certainly won’t turn away from a culture of death just to enter a culture of hate. We need to give abortion doctors a culture of love to fall back on when the cruelty of abortion tears up their hearts and spits them out. And I promise, it will happen. Jesus didn’t say to love those people who are easiest to love. He didn’t say to love just the people who act like us and share our same beliefs. “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” -Matthew 5:44. He loved the lowest of the low and wants us to follow His perfect example. Jesus said to love everyone. Period. No exceptions. Sigh, this is going to be tough. Challenge accepted. It’s going to take a lot of work, conviction and strength from God. When I’m saying my prayers before bed, I’m going to have to pray for those with the most loathsome job I can imagine right after I pray for my sweet, baby godson. If I see a worker come out of Planned Parenthood, I’m going to have to smile and share words of compassion instead of thinking “murderer” as they walk by. I’m going to have to love them with everything that I’ve got. Because in the end, it isn’t graphic images or protests that will end abortion. It isn’t the hatred or shunning of all abortion doctors that will bring about change. It’s compassion. Understanding. Prayer. It’s love.
By: Lindsey Frechou, 2012 Missionary for Life
