Last week I was driving back from one of my daughter’s doctor’s appointment in Birmingham.  The traffic on I-20 was bumper to bumper and the car in front of us had an Obama bumper sticker on the window.

My daughter and I started talking about President Obama.  She pointed out that his election was historic and I agreed, but she then asked me why I wasn’t a fan of our president.  I told her that my opposition to him mainly centered in two things–first, he supports abortion and does what he can to make sure that it continues, and second, I didn’t agree with his views on homosexuality.

My daughter asked me, “What’s abortion?”  It dawned on me that I needed to be careful and I tried to describe the process as basic as I possibly could.  I looked in the mirror and watched the look of horror on her face.  It as if she just couldn’t believe that something like that was possible.

Statistics show that the majority of Americans believe abortion is wrong and yet it still continues.  Have we lost the horrific nature of the procedure?  I pray that all of us would have the ability to be horrified every single time we hear the word.

Yesterday Mark and I were able to spend the day with over 300 fifth graders talking about what we do at FBC.  It was a great opportunity to talk to them, but it was also a reminder of how much we need to be reaching out to the students in our schools.

We spoke to 10 different classes and closed each time with a time for questions. During one of the classes a student told us that his father had just died and then another student told me that her mother and father divorced right after she was born and she hadn’t seen him since.  After the class she came up to me and said, “I haven’t seen my father because he is in jail and will probably stay in jail all of his life.”  She opened up and told me why he was in prison.  I have to tell you it made me want to take her home and introduce her to the love of Jesus.

It’s amazing to see what our students are going through.  Sixth graders are having sex, eighth graders are claiming to be homosexuals, and that is just what we see on the surface.  What is going on behind the scenes? 

Often the Church is faced with difficult circumstances.  What do we do when children have children?  Do we shun them?  Do we push them away?  Do we ignore them?  Think about it—what about baby dedications?  What about baby showers?  What do we do when the babies are having babies?

I have determined that I will lead FBC is going to err on the side of grace.  We can celebrate the birth of a child without celebrating the circumstances.  We can rejoice in the life of a child without ignoring the sin that might have brought it forth.  That doesn’t mean the church condones sin, but it does mean we celebrate forgiveness and life.

Every time I hear about a young girl having a baby I do two things—first, I rejoice that they didn’t choose to abort.  How many times has a young mother to be chosen to abort a child to keep from being shunned by the people who should love her?  If we are not careful, we can get so caught up in being pro-life that we promote death.

The second thing I do is hope that they will give up the child for adoption.  I cannot think of a greater gift of love that a young mother could give than to take her child and give him to a couple that isn’t able to have a child, but are more than able to provide a loving home for the baby. 

Many young moms choose to keep their child and rear their child and many have been very successful doing it.  As children of God we must commit to showing the same grace that God has demonstrated to us.  We must also commit to doing everything we can to bring up our children in the Lord so that they can live holy and pure lives.  There is rarely a day that I don’t pray for my four girls to be healthy, happy, and most of all holy.  Will you join me in that prayer?

Did you see the following story? You can read it here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32950836/ns/today-today_health/,  or you can watch it here.

Wow!  Choosing life is not always easy, but it is always right!