Reimagining Pro-Life: 30 Days With Save the Storksنموونە

HEART //

Oh, the Lord Jesus. . . . Don’t we love him in this account, where he encounters a woman whose life is a bit of a mess (John 4:15–18)? The beauty of how this woman’s life is changed by such a moment stops us in our tracks. 

But let’s consider — what if you were this woman’s sister? Or first husband? We love the grace Jesus gives her when we are zoomed out, but sometimes the view from up close reveals the painful details of a person’s choices, conversation after conversation, chance after chance, year after year. Sometimes this loving grace is hard to give.

We begin this week with the big idea of “Letting Go.” Where better to begin than with letting go of our own feelings and reactions toward those we consider wrong? Did you know that this interaction with the woman at the well is the longest recorded conversation Jesus had with any one person in Scripture — including his disciples? The length and detail God gives us highlight the importance of what we need to learn from it. It also reveals that Jesus did know all about this woman’s life. He had seen failure after failure, yet His response was so very simple: His first and standing offer to her is Living Water.

When we encounter sin, especially sin due to conscious decisions that impact others (as this woman’s choices most certainly must have), in our own strength our anger may rage. Our call for justice may rise up. Our shutdown-and-shutout mechanism may be triggered. But let’s take a close look at the tone and reaction of Jesus in this story. Imagine His face, His emotions, His perspective, and His truth-telling. Let’s ask ourselves how we can tap into His miraculous love that’s available for us to receive and to give. 

In light of the Bible, it is undeniable: God is against abortion. And so we, as Christians, should fight and work and plan and pray to stop it. But here is another truth that we cannot deny: God is against all sin. As much as abortion pains the heart of the Father, He grieves all our sinful responses to the sins of others just as deeply.

That’s why reading the story of Jesus and the woman at the well early in our 30 Days With Save the Storks journey is so powerful. This narrative gives us a Christlike framework not only for responding to the issue of abortion but also for dealing with our own sin and the sin of those we encounter.  

So, how do we respond exactly? We respond as Jesus did. He offered the woman Living Water. He didn’t say to her, “I’m ashamed of you. How dare you? Clean up your act!” Rather, He had compassion for her. He recognized her need. He saw the chasm that sin, likely her own AND that of others, had created deep within her soul, and He offered to fill it up with Himself. This is an offer we must receive for ourselves, and then learn to make to those around us, no matter what brokenness they may be living in.

// WORK

Throughout this month, we will be letting go of comforts that distract us from our ability to spend ourselves for others. Fasting is a practical way to let go, and as we loosen our grip on our normal coping mechanisms, we hold tight to God.

This week’s fast is to go seven days (or as many as you can!) drinking only water as a reminder of the grace of Jesus, our Living Water. Let go of all other beverages: soda and tea, juice and milk — even coffee. In satisfying your physical thirst through water alone, your actions will take on great spiritual significance. Our first empathy challenge invites you to let go of the crutch of uppers, downers, sugar addictions, and comfort drinks. Satisfy yourself in the endless well of Living Water — in Jesus alone. You can choose to fast all beverages besides water for one week while still eating as you normally would. If you’re feeling physically and spiritually empowered to fast non-water beverages and food — go for it! Try it, even for just one day.

Every time you choose water rather than your other normal beverages, be thinking about the ways that you can turn the love of Jesus in your heart toward people who have had abortions or are facing unplanned pregnancies and the temptation of our culture to cope with a “quick fix.” If your fasting includes skipping meals, consider using that time to pray for their healing, and for this issue in our world, for hearts to change and strongholds of deception to be filled with the light of Truth. Pray for the volunteers in your local pregnancy resource center, those who are doing sidewalk counseling and praying near abortion clinics. 

However you prayerfully decide to approach this fast, we want to encourage you to meditate on the way the woman at the well reacted once Jesus invited her to drink from His unending well: “Leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’” (John 4:28–29). Having been led to the wellspring of eternal life, she couldn’t help but invite others to drink. Pray about how you can run toward and invite others into the Living Water. The love of Jesus is as vital to our spiritual lives as water is to our physical bodies. What an image for those in our world who are thirsty to the point of desperation. Jesus is refining you to encounter people who need this invitation more than you know.