“If Mary had had an abortion,” the sign posted on Facebook said, “we wouldn’t be in this mess.” To the two women holding up a large four by eight sign while marching in a local parade it was hilarious. Fortunately, they hadn’t made such a reference to the mother of the Prophet Mohammad. They would have been in deep trouble and might well have been threatened with death.
Christianity, however, is fair game in America. The media ignored the event so far as I can tell. No one seems to care, and some may even find it amusing. To millions of Christians, however, it is a sacrilege and evil.
No abortion was needed, of course; the Romans took care of that some thirty-three years later. They put Him down, but they couldn’t keep Him down! Jesus arose from the dead. His message prevailed, His followers regained their faith, and the Church became a force for good.
But why the antagonism? Never, but never, will you see or hear of such an insult publicly displayed toward Islam, or Buddhism, or Judaism. These religious faiths are treated with respect, or at the most, with benign neglect. They, also, claim to be exclusive, but they do not indict non-believers with sin; neither do they claim the rest of the world is going to hell. But Christianity demands a personal surrender to the will of God. Perhaps this is why the Christian faith generates such gross and insensitive opposition.
And, yes, Christianity does claim to be exclusive. Furthermore, Christianity has the audacity (or the honesty) to proclaim that there is no solution to the sin problem apart from Jesus Christ. On one occasion He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I know that sounds self-serving. But Jesus wasn’t being partisan; it’s just the way it is.
The Bible gives us a number of pictures of both heaven and hell, but the bottom line is this. If we serve God on earth, we shall spend eternity with Him. That, however you visualize it, will be heaven. On the other hand, if we live without God on earth, we are going to spend eternity without Him. And that, however you visualize it, will be hell. You and I don’t want to go there!
Our message is based on the conviction that sin is a major obstacle to a viable relationship with God. God has decreed, as a matter of justice, that sin must be punished — by death. We each have sinned and therefore death — that is, eternal separation from God — is the divine judgment against each one of us.
But God “so loved the world” that He proposed a solution. He sent His son — through Mary — and it is an honor to tell you Mary did not abort! The Perfect One — the only human [Who was also Divine] to never have sinned — lived to die in our place. Jesus did something about “the mess we’re in.” He gave His life that we might live.
We are not playing games here, and it is unconscionable to mock the life He lived and the sacrifice He made. If Mary had had an abortion, we would all be eternally damned. His death — in our place — was necessary to justify God’s forgiveness. That was why the Apostle Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else.” Forgiveness, and heaven, is available to all, but it can be appropriated only through Jesus Christ. He is no joke! Don’t treat Him like trash!
prised – even fascinated – by the fundamental changes in her character, her integrity, and her personal confidence.
