Our attention is dominated and our lives are captivated by a disease that’s claimed 57,000 American lives in the last 3 months. All the while the river of blood still flows beneath our streets. The merciless scourge which has killed, an average of twice that many monthly for the last 47 years rages on. This is the irrationality of rebellion. This is the savagery of depravity. This is brutality of spiritual blindness.

This morning my wife went in for her 20-week ultrasound and anatomy scan of our son. Though God has blessed us with three other children, due to quarantine restrictions, it was the first time I wasn’t allowed to go with her. But after she returned, we got to show the baby off to his brother and sisters, deliriously eager to meet him. We huddled around my computer on the sofa and slowly scrolled through the ultrasound images and videos. We counted his fingers and toes. We traced his eyes, lips and nose. We talked about God’s amazing power on display as he “knits the baby together in mommy’s tummy.” This experience is not unique. Many of you all have enjoyed the same golden moments of anticipation, awe, and gratitude.

But sadly, not all expectantly celebrate the arrival of babies. Not all see children as a “heritage,” “reward,” and “blessing” from the Lord (Psalm 127). Not all consider the ultrasound’s shadows to be matchless works of heavenly art; the result of divine craftsmanship, cast after the image of God Himself. To many, children are an accident, an inconvenient cluster of cells, a killjoy, even a viral dependent. Many believe that the power to create and destroy life is a human instead of a divine right; unless, of course, the life in question is their own.

But nothing is new under the sun. The Church of Jesus Christ is today as it has always been: an ark of life anchored in a sea of blood. You see, that’s why there were so many prohibitions against child sacrifice in the Old Testament.  Many of the nations which surrounded the church in the wilderness and in Canaan, slaughtered their children in the hellish worship of their demonic gods. At times, this bloodlust, this culture of death, has even infected the church.

In the midst of this pandemic, the irrationality of such rebellion is on blinking-neon display. Consider all that has been done to save human life in the past months: the total shutdown of the global economy, almost universal shelter-in-place orders, closed borders, closed parks with taped off benches, halts on immigration, no unnecessary travel, no elective medical procedures, no school, no sports, no vacations, no summer camps, no nursing home or hospital visits, and no church. As Christian’s who have been commanded by God to cherish and protect life as we “seek the welfare of our city” (Jeremiah 29:7), it is our duty to honor the Lord and our leaders by glad cooperation with these efforts.

And yet, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, abortions remain legal in every single state of the union.  Some have tried to save lives by tabling abortion during the shutdown. In a March executive order, Texas Governor Greg Abbott mandated abortions be halted along with other non-essential medical procedures. But after a month of passionate litigation, abortions have resumed in the Lone Star State. And despite the earnest pledge of governor, Tate Reeves, to make “Mississippi the safest place in America for unborn children,” the state’s only abortion clinic is open for business.

Across the country, they who demanded the “freedom to choose,” now demand that their choice be considered essential not elective. Can someone (ANYONE?) explain how a procedure which snuffs out human life is actually essential to the preservation of life? How can it be that a country that’s broken itself to save lives is simultaneously bending over backwards to safeguard the slaughter of what is truly our most vulnerable demographic? 

Our attention is dominated and our lives are captivated by a disease that’s claimed 57,000 American lives in the last 3 months. All the while the river of blood still flows beneath our streets. The merciless scourge which has killed, an average of twice that many monthly for the last 47 years rages on. This is the irrationality of rebellion. This is the savagery of depravity. This is brutality of spiritual blindness.

So as we remember to pray for the Lord’s protection on our valiant medical professionals; as we remember to pray for the Lord to save us from this dreadful virus and the fiscal consequences of a withered economy, let’s also remember the number one cause of death in this country is not war, starvation, car accidents, cancer, suicide, smoking, heart disease, or Covid-19. It’s abortion. Mankind remains the deadliest threat to mankind.

O Father, save the children. Forgive us of our cruel indifference. Holy Spirit, you are the Lord and Giver of life. Would you kindle the pulpits of Your church till they burn white-hot with heaven’s fire? As Moses struck the rock, strike ministers that from our mouths would flow streams of living water. Cause winds of revival to blow throughout our country, homes, and hearts. Lord, You Who hold the hearts of kings in your hands, raise up courageous leaders who will fight for the innocent and defenseless. Gracious Savior, convert abortionists and those who cheer them. Convict and comfort the parents of slain children. For the sake of Your glorious kingdom, cause the church to rise. Fill the hearts of Your people with humility and compassion to seek and serve our lost neighbors and lead them back to You, not as morally superior Pharisees, but as lowly sinners forgiven and freed by the cross of Jesus Christ. Thank You, dear Lord, that while there’s no sin so small that it doesn’t deserve an eternity of Your righteous wrath in hell, there’s no sin stain too tough that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot wash it away. For Christ’s sake, have mercy on us and heal our land. Amen.

Jim McCarthy is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Senior Pastor of First PCA in Hattiesburg Miss.