This post was written in November (which explains the first line), but for some reason I never hit the publish button.
Well, elections were two days ago, but as Abby's mother promised, "It'll be over soon. The election will be over soon." Cancel on promise. Me and Abby are still hearing about Bronco Bama and Mitt Romney. (Go here if you don't know what I'm referencing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjrthOPLAKM )
I'm hearing a lot about the "black vote," the "latino vote," and the "women's vote." The women's vote is particularly interesting because a lot of women stated that they voted for the president because they support women's rights, chiefly a woman's right to not have a baby. I mean, after all, men have that right, so why shouldn't we?
Please forgive my utter sarcasm and tone. You can probably guess which side of the pro-life/pro-choice chasm I am on. But this Bible-thumping gal just may surprise you. I am actually very much in favor of a woman's right to her own life.
The difference is that I also support the right of the woman that is in the womb.
....and I probably just lost 70% of you.
The majority of America seems to believe that a fetus is not a human and therefore does not have any rights. But, what I want to know is, when does that fetus become a human? Now, that question just may be too deep for this humble ole blog. So in order to tie this into a women's rights issue, the better question would be when does the fetus become a girl?
Because when I ask myself that question, the answer isn't so mirky. The fetus never becomes a girl, she is a girl from the second that egg is fertilized. And maybe if I didn't believe that, then I would be left to say that the fetus becomes a girl at around 9 weeks. Why? Well, here's your daily biology lesson. No worries; tuition's on me.
About 6 weeks after fertilization, the fetus (boy or girl) begins to develop an external genitalia. These are essentially developing the same until about 9 weeks. After this, the genitalia start to form differently depending on the sex, but generally the differences cannot be accurately seen until about 16-18 weeks on a sonogram. And this is typically when parents can discover the gender of their baby. At about 20 weeks, the external genitalia are fully formed.
Regardless of when you think a fetus becomes a girl, one has to agree that it is at the latest 16-18 weeks after conception (which is really 18-20 weeks pregnant). Here's the problem: abortion is legal in the state of Florida up to 22 weeks pregnant.
So, when I hear women talking about women's rights, I can't also help but think about the girls (and the boys) still growing in the womb and their rights.
I'm thankful that there even is a "women's vote" to talk about and how we women, at least according to the media hype, probably changed the outcome of the elections. I mean, less than 100 years ago (92 to be exact) we weren't even allowed to vote.
But the sad truth at hand is there are thousands of women-to-be, who will never get the chance to vote.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Yes, you there, in the back. You have a question?
Lately, I've been trying to muster up the courage to talk to people about Jesus and the gospel: go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). My own thoughts begin to hinder me. You see, whenever I have to make a decision, my mind automatically then plays every possible scenario that could happen as a consequence of that decision. Not only that, my brain then tries to process the next 10 scenarios that could happen after that. Then I start to panic. On my own, I'm not very good at making decisions.
So, during a moment when I was trying to get the boldness to talk with someone, the scenario of, "What if they ask, '_______'? Then what do I say?" One question stuck with me.
Many people ask, "If God is a loving god, then how can He send good people to hell?" I was pondering this question the other day. I've heard the cliche answer. That our definition of good does not come close to God's goodness. That even our righteous acts are as filthy rags when compared to God. That all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In other words, our "good" would never meet his standards. In His eyes, we're not seen as good and so in His eyes, good people actually don't go to hell because there is no one who is good without God (refer to Psalm 16:2).
The idea behind this argument is something I have to and do agree with. But it doesn't really address the implied issue behind the question. The above response really just addresses the fact that God is really and utterly perfect, like beyond-our-understanding perfect. But what people really want to know is, "Is God really loving?" And that's what I was chewing on.
Incredibly (I say incredibly because I'm really not that bright when it comes to the ways of God), I had a revelation. You see, I could reword the question to: If God is a loving god, how can someone who has told one lie deserve the same punishment as someone who has murdered thousands of people? It does seem a little lopsided doesn't it. But here's my revelation: God is so in tune with each and every hurt, betrayal, grief, regret, pain, fear, sadness of His children (that's you and me) and no matter how small or minor these hurts are, God takes it seriously and seeks out the ultimate justice and retribution against the perpetrator.
Here's the thing: every sin has a consequence. Telling one small lie can hurt someone's feelings and God takes this so seriously because He loves you so much, that He has to justify your hurt. He does not leave one broken heart, hurt feeling, broken pride, or shattered hope unturned. To Him, His child was wronged and because He is so in love with His child, someone needs to pay.
That punishment is death. We have all at some point in our life, whether intentional or not, wronged someone, or even ourselves. And God is not okay with that because He is so in love with us and never wants us wronged.
But check it. His love goes even further. He is SO in love with the perpetrators (us), that He was willing to take this death penalty upon Himself. God is a loving God because He died for all of us who deserved death. We don't have to face the pits of hell because Jesus already went there in our place -- IF we choose to accept His offer.
"If God is a loving god, how can He send good people to hell?" Here's my answer: yes.
Yes, He does love you.
So, during a moment when I was trying to get the boldness to talk with someone, the scenario of, "What if they ask, '_______'? Then what do I say?" One question stuck with me.
Many people ask, "If God is a loving god, then how can He send good people to hell?" I was pondering this question the other day. I've heard the cliche answer. That our definition of good does not come close to God's goodness. That even our righteous acts are as filthy rags when compared to God. That all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In other words, our "good" would never meet his standards. In His eyes, we're not seen as good and so in His eyes, good people actually don't go to hell because there is no one who is good without God (refer to Psalm 16:2).
The idea behind this argument is something I have to and do agree with. But it doesn't really address the implied issue behind the question. The above response really just addresses the fact that God is really and utterly perfect, like beyond-our-understanding perfect. But what people really want to know is, "Is God really loving?" And that's what I was chewing on.
Incredibly (I say incredibly because I'm really not that bright when it comes to the ways of God), I had a revelation. You see, I could reword the question to: If God is a loving god, how can someone who has told one lie deserve the same punishment as someone who has murdered thousands of people? It does seem a little lopsided doesn't it. But here's my revelation: God is so in tune with each and every hurt, betrayal, grief, regret, pain, fear, sadness of His children (that's you and me) and no matter how small or minor these hurts are, God takes it seriously and seeks out the ultimate justice and retribution against the perpetrator.
Here's the thing: every sin has a consequence. Telling one small lie can hurt someone's feelings and God takes this so seriously because He loves you so much, that He has to justify your hurt. He does not leave one broken heart, hurt feeling, broken pride, or shattered hope unturned. To Him, His child was wronged and because He is so in love with His child, someone needs to pay.
That punishment is death. We have all at some point in our life, whether intentional or not, wronged someone, or even ourselves. And God is not okay with that because He is so in love with us and never wants us wronged.
But check it. His love goes even further. He is SO in love with the perpetrators (us), that He was willing to take this death penalty upon Himself. God is a loving God because He died for all of us who deserved death. We don't have to face the pits of hell because Jesus already went there in our place -- IF we choose to accept His offer.
"If God is a loving god, how can He send good people to hell?" Here's my answer: yes.
Yes, He does love you.
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