by Rev. Dr. Aric Fenske, Executive Director
My friends in Christ, Election Day is coming up November 3. As faithful supporters of God’s gift of life, I’m sure that you are already fully aware of that, and I am confident that you know how important these election cycles are in our continued effort to uphold the sanctity of each human life that God has created, redeemed, and called.
With these upcoming elections in mind, I would like to ask you to do a few things. First, if you haven’t already, research each candidate’s stance on life issues. And please don’t forget about end-of-life issues. There are several states currently considering legislation on physician-assisted suicide. The newly elected state officials will play a major role in determining the future of assisted death in those states.
Additionally, please check to see if there is any new legislation regarding life issues on your ballots. For example, our brothers and sisters in Missouri will be voting on Amendment 3, which would repeal the current law allowing abortion and prohibit gender transition surgeries for minors.
Next, I would ask you to heed St. Paul’s words to Timothy and pray for the newly elected officials, along with the other public servants (1 Timothy 2:1-2). For those who currently uphold the truth and defend the lives of our neighbors, we pray that God would continue to strengthen them, that they would be able to effect positive change in our communities. For those who currently stand in opposition to Christ and His gift of life, we pray that God would open their hearts to His truth and change their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And that leads me to my last request. Please continue to be an active partner of Lutherans For Life! While we certainly want to institute and support laws to defend life, we recognize that the real solution to these issues lies in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Changing laws is a great start, but we know that we must also change hearts. The underlying problem behind every life issue is, of course, the sinful hearts of mankind. And the only solution to that is the power of the Gospel. Besides, our true goal as the Church of Christ is to support the eternal lives of each of our neighbors and to invite them to be members of God’s family along with us.
Lutherans For Life continues to be dedicated to that great task, but we cannot do it without your support.
Thank you for all that you do in your own communities to share the Gospel and to uphold the sanctity of life, and thank you for helping us equip others to do the same.