John,
Abortion is many things, but at its worst, it is a sin.
My sins, your sins, and the sins of the entire world are what crucified Jesus Christ...
...and are the reason for this week -- the week that changed the world.
Sin is not a popular topic in our world today (even among many Christians) as we have dangerously lost the sense of sin.
Without sin, Jesus Christ would not have needed to lay down His life, suffer, and die. Without the acknowledgement of sin, we cannot receive forgiveness. By denying the reality of sin, we rob Jesus Christ of the powerful offering of His mercy. As the timeless phrase goes, we allow the devil to steal our shame. Preacher and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this cheap grace:
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
Fulton Sheen said, "Forgiveness is not cheap. If He offered it without a Cross, you would not take it. That Cross is the price God paid to buy you from your sins. Without it, there is neither sin nor God."
The suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are our hope and our joy. They are why we go pray at abortion facilities. This new, special Holy Week episode of The 40 Days for Life Podcast covers the biblical figures we meet this week -- and how we meet them -- at abortion facilities:
40daysforlife.com/en/10-people
We must show up at abortion facilities, not because we are sinless, but because we are sinners who know Jesus Christ will forgive any sin and set us free. Sin is at the root of the abortion crisis -- the sins that lead to abortion, the sins of silence surrounding abortion, and the sins of those who do the abortions.
Sin is how we got here. But sin is not how the story ends as we see in the women, babies, abortion workers, and all those impacted by the healing love of Jesus Christ.
This week is a beautiful time to thank God for the gift of His Son and to ask how He can use you as a vessel of His mercy and love to combat the evil of abortion.
Please know that our team will be praying for you and your family this week, and we look forward to sharing the amazing results of how God's mercy is conquering the sin of abortion in local neighborhoods during the largest spring campaign ever.
We trust in the power of the resurrection and the mercy of Jesus Christ -- for ourselves and the whole world. That is what is ending and will end abortion.
Have a blessed Holy Week and a Happy Easter,
