[Salvation]

Day 15 - October 7

 

Intention:

May God's people awaken to the fact that we are our brothers' keepers.

Scripture:

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground."

-- Genesis 4:8-10

Reflection:

"Methinks he doth protest too much ..."

The Bible is filled with passages that speak to our obligation to care for our fellow human beings. From the many commands in the books of Moses enjoining love of family, neighbors and even strangers, to Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, the injunction to care for others is inescapable.

In this account, the guilt-stricken Cain tries to shrug off his obligation to his own kin by dismissing it as an unreasonable duty. A la Shakespeare, though, "methinks he doth protest too much." Cain's objection doesn't stem from his sense of proper boundaries of responsibility, but from his own self-centered sense of self-preservation.

Christ said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). This is the standard of divine love. It required God to sacrifice what was most precious to Him for the temporal and eternal well being of all humankind (see John 3:16). Though on a much-reduced scale, he expects us to do the same.

Trying to duck our obligation to others is futile. We can't get away with simply dismissing others, especially the most vulnerable among us: the pre-born, the disabled, the sick and the aged. As with Cain, God sees and hears their suffering and will call us to account for what we do -- or do not do -- for them.

Prayer:

Father, help us to embrace the fact that we are our "brother's keeper." When, due to selfish motives, we try to cast off this responsibility please call to us to account. We would be pleasing to you and to our "brother." Through the help and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Rob Schenck
President, Faith and Action

[Salvation]

Today's email update:

 

Most 40 Days for Life prayer vigils are conducted
outside abortion facilities that are either in
stand-alone buildings or in medical office parks.
There are, of course, some exceptions.

One of those exceptions is in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
where abortions are performed in a hospital. So it's
hard to know who among the many hundreds of women
entering the hospital are there for an abortion, and
good news about lives changed through prayer is hard
to come by.

Still, local coordinator Julie Culshaw has always
been convinced that prayer works. Vigil participants
were asked to pray for specific people in the
hospital, including a woman who worked part-time as a
counselor in the abortion unit. Julie just learned
that this woman has given up that position and has
asked for a transfer to another ward.

"She said she 'felt such darkness' when she had to
work in the Pregnancy Termination Unit, as it is
called," Julie said. "Praise God; this is an answer
to prayer!"

At another 40 Days for Life vigil location -- this
one will have to remain anonymous, for reasons you
will see -- a local business had been helping the
campaign. The business owners serve as agents for a
prominent national company.

"Abortion advocates have continually harassed the
local agents and pressured the national corporation
to mandate that they disassociate from our 40 Days
for Life campaign," said the local 40 Days for Life
coordinator. "I cannot in good conscience ask them to
place their livelihood as risk."

It's really too bad. 40 Days for Life had been good
for this company's business. Still, the local
campaign coordinator is optimistic. "My heart
rejoices that we were honored with this level of
persecution and the opportunity to persevere and
witness to God's truth and pray for His glory to be
revealed in the strength and sustenance He provides
for us to continue onward."

Sometimes, the truth is revealed in other ways.

It isn't often that anyone from Planned Parenthood
agrees to publicly debate abortion; but in Lubbock,
Texas, a Planned Parenthood representative agreed to
take part in a discussion organized by a group of
pro-life medical students at Texas Tech.

But once a notice of the event was published in the
newspaper, the Planned Parenthood spokesperson backed
out, reportedly saying he would be unable to
participate in anything related to 40 Days for Life.

"The question is," asked Dan in Lubbock, "if abortion
is such a good thing, in their view, why isn't it
robustly defensible 24/7?"

The answer is simple: They cannot argue the facts.
There is no defense for abortion ...

... And that's something even children understand.

It was a dark, rainy day in Richmond, Virginia. Becca
was headed to the abortion facility to pray at the
40 Days for Life vigil with her 3-year-old daughter,
Anna. "As we drove to the clinic," she said, "I
explained to her why we were going, what we would be
doing there, and who we would be praying for."

While they were standing in the rain, Becca took
Anna's picture. It's the only time Becca can ever
recall that Anna didn't smile for a picture.

See the photo online at:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=337

Anna is only 3 years old, but she understands. Please
continue to pray that all may see, with a child's
eyes, the darkness that must be overcome.