Michelle Bauman, Director of Y4Life
2023 is off to a good start!
From local and national marches to our own life-affirming events – Frontline Call, Life Week 2023, and Y4Life in Washington, D.C. to name just a few – January is filled to the brim with opportunities to celebrate life. And like other For Life organizations, we won’t just be celebrating this month and this year; we’ll also be educating. From social media posts and video testimonials to in-person conferences and individual conversations, 2023 is certain to bring us countless opportunities to declare that life is valuable from fertilization to forever.
Yet, just as pro-lifers work ardently to spread the message of the value of life, Satan is working ardently too. In fact, he’s getting very bold. Under new F.D.A. regulations, abortion medications that used to be dispensed behind closed doors, will soon be available in drug stores. Insurance companies, designed to cover procedures that heal, are now suggesting procedures to end life. Men secretly dressed in drag now openly cajole crowds for tips and invite children to dance seductively at a zoo. Deeds typically reserved for the dark have been brought into the light, and Satan would have us believe that the world rejoices.
This brash behavior shouldn’t surprise us; it happened in the Bible too. Despite God’s warning to Cain that he was headed for trouble, Cain embraced his base desires and murdered his brother, Able. Just a few verses later, the Bible records that Lamech, Cain’s great, great, great, great, great grandson, not only repeats Cain’s sin but also brags about it, “If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold” (Genesis 4:24). It seems Lamech has perfected the sin of murder. Evil left unchecked, eagerly embraced even, grows.
What is a Christian to do in the face of these realities? Remain in Him who is our sure and certain hope.
We have a God who has not only checked evil but also conquered it. A God whose sacrifice defeated both death and the devil, tying him to a stake and unmasking him for the liar he is. We have a God who not only rejoices in good, but also creates it – gifting forgiveness, life, and healing to His people. Yes, our God transforms that which is meant for evil and uses it for good. He dispels despair and darkness with His hope and light; His mercies are, indeed, new every morning.
2023 will certainly be filled with sin, but it will also be filled to overflowing with God’s goodness and mercy. His gifts are already planned, already promised, already delivered. And there is more to come.
As we stand on the precipice of 2023, may we look forward to the opportunities to share His light and His life. May His promises renew our hope and strengthen our faith. And when we encounter evil, may we boldly confess that Christ died so that ALL might live.