by Pastor Michael Salemink
Posterity will remember and celebrate Lutherans For Life.
Generations henceforth are going to mark how the Lord our God abundantly blessed this ministry. Future history will record and recount the evidence testifying how divine presence and heavenly power have attended this cause and community. Even already anyone can observe that the Father Almighty draws near, dwells among us, sides with us, and stands for us. He has not hidden His works of creating, His labors of incarnating, or His activities of incorporating. Not only does He invest human life with His own gift of sanctity, but He also preserves, swift to forgive and strong to save, with countless comforts and encouragements.
Here are ten fingerprints the hand of God has left upon our movement for all to detect and delight in:
The resurrection of His Son and the persistence of the Church. The Holy Trinity’s love has brought Christ Jesus back to us raised from the dead. He has made His kingdom and household of everlasting life an event, a fact, the truth, and reality. And over twenty centuries He has established, spread, and sustained this faith and fellowship in spite of great opposition and many obstacles.- Forty-five years of LFL existence and endurance. Lord God Almighty has allowed us to continue equipping Lutherans and their neighbors to be Gospel-motivated voices For Life unto a third generation. He has even appointed opportunities in which our undertakings and funding have expanded.
- Increased cultural awareness and engagement. Life issues like surprise pregnancy and terminal diagnosis have a higher profile in national consciousness now than ever before. The Great Physician is getting everyone’s attention, and more every day are putting life-affirming courage and compassion into practice.
- Youth enthusiasm exceeding their predecessors. Our Good Shepherd has ensured that the For Life pioneers have effectively delivered the message to their children and grandchildren. Young people are speaking and showing the sanctity of every human life in even greater proportions than their parents.
- Focus on further life issues, activities, and service. Having taught us in the context of abortion and euthanasia how He treasures each member of our race, the Savior keeps opening our eyes to additional needs. Biotechnologies, body and sexuality, abuse, addictions, racial discrimination, responsible citizenship, and respectful dialogue, among others, invite our For Life advocacy.
- A nationwide network of volunteer communities. The King of Creation has provided us members and supporters in all fifty states. Affiliate congregational Life Teams and Life Chapters number more than one hundred from California to North Carolina and Texas to Connecticut. This includes consensus across six church bodies and multiple international partners.
- Advancements in science and medicine. God’s hand keeps granting us better understanding of human development in utero and neurological structures and functions through new imaging instruments and techniques. He has even revealed medications that can relieve suffering and reverse abortion.
- Reduction in abortion rates. The Lord has lent success to the For Life message in driving down the number of abortions by as much as half over the last thirty years. Facilities that perpetrate these violences are closing at a precipitous pace.
- Proliferation of pregnancy resource centers. Christian convictions have moved thousands to open charitable assistance operations for expectant mothers and fathers in their neighborhoods. Thousands more give to, serve at, and refer for these rescue mission outposts. Not only is Jesus saving lives there, but He is also using them to change hearts and receive sisters and brothers for lifetimes and eternities.
- Public policies protecting life’s sanctity. The Judge of quick and dead imparted wisdom to this land’s magistrates to vacate the unjust Roe v. Wade framework. Federal representatives and state legislatures have enacted hundreds of restrictions against abortion and assisted suicide as well as provisions for defending the vulnerable and destitute over the past decade alone.
May the Lord our God enable us to rejoice in these signs of His favor!