“Motherhood by choice, not by chance.”
The following is a very good article written by my Uncle Jesse Roberts, Jr. on abortion in a newsletter he puts out as pastor of Flat Shoals Primitive Baptist Church in Stockbridge, GA:
“Motherhood by choice, not by chance.” That is what the bumper sticker read in the grocery store parking lot. Obviously, the car’s owner meant to convey the message that he or she believed in abortion on demand, and I suppose the owner achieved his or her objective. I began to consider what the words actually said. Motherhood was not the subject under consideration. There have been many “mothers” in Israel who have not borne the children they mothered. Sister Ann Hunt was a mother in Israel to my oldest daughter. Although she bore three children, Jessica was not one of them, but Sister Ann was a mother to her, as Sister Gussie Cawthon, her mother, has been a mother to me. Childbirth was the subject under consideration. There is a great difference between bearing a child and being a mother.
Today’s proponents of “abortion on demand” would try to blur the distinction between childbirth and motherhood. They have used this tactic before. Do you remember that the Supreme Court’s great question in 1973, when it wrote the opinion in Roe v. Wade, was whether (human) life began at conception or some time later? That court determined that abortion should be legal, available, and safe in the first trimester of pregnancy. The assumption was that “humanity” did not begin until after the third month of gestation. The Court reasoned that if it determined that (human) life began earlier or later, it would adjust the time period accordingly. It may be a surprise to some who read this letter, but the re-visitation has not happened. In fact, as several “right-wing evangelical” Christians (whoever they are) predicted, this opinion became a slippery slope to such an extent that now partial-birth abortion at seven, eight, or nine months, is regularly performed, and NARAL and other “right to choice” groups have said that the discussion must change: the question, they say, should not be, “When does life begin?” but rather, “Doesn’t a woman have a right to privacy?”
I’m a fairly simple person. When God inspired David to write, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” (Ps. 139:13-16) I believe that this scripture proves that at conception he was human. When God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations,” (Jer. 1:5) I’m certain that Jeremiah was human at conception. Certainly, before he was born, Jeremiah was human, because he had already experienced the new birth. In order to experience the new birth, he must have first been human. (John 3:5-7) A human cannot be alive spiritually before he is alive naturally. David, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist all apparently experienced the new birth before the ninth month of gestation. Therefore, as a “fetus,” they were human.
Does a woman have a right to choose whether or not she should kill her child? “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Ps. 127:3) One may say, “Yes, but I wasn’t ready to be a mother.” My wife and I are raising a child that fit that circumstance. As confused as my daughter was about to many issues related to her rebellion to God’s word and subsequent pregnancy, I am thankful that God sustained her through her ordeal, although she received bad advice from Christians who suggested that she should have an abortion. She chose to bear the child. She felt that having an abortion would add sin to sin.
The fruit of her womb has been a blessing for Susan and me. We sometimes complain about being too old to raise a child, but God gives more grace. In spite of all the difficulties we encounter on a daily basis, he is the joy of our old age.
Motherhood by choice? No! God calls women to be mothers, and He equips them to rise to the calling. Childbirth by choice? No! God has designed that childbirth is by His decree. Conception by choice? No! God has, as He pleases, prevented or allowed conception at His pleasure.
I have not had the opportunity to tell the person that owns the bumper sticker that motherhood, childbirth, and conception are not by chance, but by the decree of God. Perhaps you can tell them for me.
Your servant in Christ,
Jesse M. Roberts, Jr
“Motherhood by choice, not by chance.” That is what the bumper sticker read in the grocery store parking lot. Obviously, the car’s owner meant to convey the message that he or she believed in abortion on demand, and I suppose the owner achieved his or her objective. I began to consider what the words actually said. Motherhood was not the subject under consideration. There have been many “mothers” in Israel who have not borne the children they mothered. Sister Ann Hunt was a mother in Israel to my oldest daughter. Although she bore three children, Jessica was not one of them, but Sister Ann was a mother to her, as Sister Gussie Cawthon, her mother, has been a mother to me. Childbirth was the subject under consideration. There is a great difference between bearing a child and being a mother.
Today’s proponents of “abortion on demand” would try to blur the distinction between childbirth and motherhood. They have used this tactic before. Do you remember that the Supreme Court’s great question in 1973, when it wrote the opinion in Roe v. Wade, was whether (human) life began at conception or some time later? That court determined that abortion should be legal, available, and safe in the first trimester of pregnancy. The assumption was that “humanity” did not begin until after the third month of gestation. The Court reasoned that if it determined that (human) life began earlier or later, it would adjust the time period accordingly. It may be a surprise to some who read this letter, but the re-visitation has not happened. In fact, as several “right-wing evangelical” Christians (whoever they are) predicted, this opinion became a slippery slope to such an extent that now partial-birth abortion at seven, eight, or nine months, is regularly performed, and NARAL and other “right to choice” groups have said that the discussion must change: the question, they say, should not be, “When does life begin?” but rather, “Doesn’t a woman have a right to privacy?”
I’m a fairly simple person. When God inspired David to write, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” (Ps. 139:13-16) I believe that this scripture proves that at conception he was human. When God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations,” (Jer. 1:5) I’m certain that Jeremiah was human at conception. Certainly, before he was born, Jeremiah was human, because he had already experienced the new birth. In order to experience the new birth, he must have first been human. (John 3:5-7) A human cannot be alive spiritually before he is alive naturally. David, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist all apparently experienced the new birth before the ninth month of gestation. Therefore, as a “fetus,” they were human.
Does a woman have a right to choose whether or not she should kill her child? “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Ps. 127:3) One may say, “Yes, but I wasn’t ready to be a mother.” My wife and I are raising a child that fit that circumstance. As confused as my daughter was about to many issues related to her rebellion to God’s word and subsequent pregnancy, I am thankful that God sustained her through her ordeal, although she received bad advice from Christians who suggested that she should have an abortion. She chose to bear the child. She felt that having an abortion would add sin to sin.
The fruit of her womb has been a blessing for Susan and me. We sometimes complain about being too old to raise a child, but God gives more grace. In spite of all the difficulties we encounter on a daily basis, he is the joy of our old age.
Motherhood by choice? No! God calls women to be mothers, and He equips them to rise to the calling. Childbirth by choice? No! God has designed that childbirth is by His decree. Conception by choice? No! God has, as He pleases, prevented or allowed conception at His pleasure.
I have not had the opportunity to tell the person that owns the bumper sticker that motherhood, childbirth, and conception are not by chance, but by the decree of God. Perhaps you can tell them for me.
Your servant in Christ,
Jesse M. Roberts, Jr
posted by cpuaggie at 2:18 PM
2 Comments:
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
I enjoyed what Uncle Jesse had to say! I'm really enjoying reading some of his other articles also.
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