A passage of Scripture more commonly associated with Advent is especially appropriate for the cultural moment we are living through right now. Isaiah 9:1-7 speaks of a people walking in darkness and a light dawning upon them in the form a son. Isaiah wrote:
“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” (v. 6-7, ESV)
A nation that is not well
Our nation thirsts for that peace right now, doesn’t it? The horrific and jarring scenes from the July 13 assassination attempt on the life of former President Trump should shake us all to our core. Our nation is not well.
- Our institutions are faltering.
- Our communities are fracturing.
- Our relationships are fraying.
One only need look at social media to see this play out in real time. In the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt, far too many individuals’ immediate response, including those who fancy themselves leaders, centered on deepening and exploiting the divisions we see around us—or even raising the specter of Civil War.
This is not leadership. This is lunacy. What we saw this weekend was an atrocity that has already taken one innocent life and harmed the lives of others, including our former president. We must not hesitate to condemn these kinds of acts, the hateful rhetoric that fuels them, and the depraved culture that spawns them. And, of course, we urge law enforcement to conduct a full and swift accounting of how such a terrible deed could be done.
As that happens, let us commit to praying for our leaders in authority, as Scripture tells us, and for our nation as a whole. Prayer must be a central part of how we respond in challenging times. And, as we go before the Lord, we must pause to reflect about our culture and, perhaps, fully reckon with what we have wrought as a society.
- How did we get to a point where such violence is seen by someone as a legitimate expression of their grievance?
- How is it that such a uniquely dangerous individual could get access to a dangerous weapon and use it against a person who is a former president and may very well be our next one?
- How do we stop the dehumanization of others?
- How is life seen as so disposable?
Selfless service that recognizes human dignity
I am convinced more and more that the great challenge of our time is recovering a basic understanding of human dignity—the truth that we are all made in the image of God—and the responsibilities that are attached to that. Then, we must act wisely, decently, and humbly in light of all this.
And so, we match our fervent prayers with selfless service, which is something those who serve at pregnancy resource centers do on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
You are an encouragement for so many Christ followers who deeply believe in the cause of life, the dignity of mothers, and the importance of family. In many ways, and in many instances, you are shining forth the very light of Jesus that we hear about in the passage from Isaiah.
- Your commitment to serve individuals in moments of great need, your work with local churches, and your walk with families toward a healthy, flourishing future is a model of care that should be and, in fact, must be replicated across the nation.
- You look into the eyes of men and women, those made in the image of God, and you carry the light of the gospel and hope of a future in some of these individuals’ darkest moments.
- Through your efforts, real change takes place, and preborn lives are saved in the counseling rooms, clinics, and classrooms in your ministries across your state.
- You are the ones on the real frontline of the struggle between life and death, serving through what I understand to be unprecedented years in pregnancy care ministry.
- You are meeting people, where they are, so often dwelling in “the land of the shadow of death.”
As you undertake this Kingdom-revealing service, it has been our great privilege at the ERLC to get to know so many of you through our Psalm 139 Project in our efforts to place life-saving ultrasound machines in pregnancy centers across the country in cooperation with local churches, supporters, and other partners.
Just as our culture is in a time of chaos, we know these years have been challenging for so many of you as well. There is much misunderstanding and misinformation about your ministry, what you seek to do, and who you seek to serve. My team and I know a little of what that feels like. But hear this: the ERLC is committed to doing everything we can to support and highlight the life-saving work of pregnancy resource centers around the country.
More than that, the Lord sees your faithfulness. He sees your good work. Do not grow weary in your service and in ministering to those in their time of need (Gal. 6:9). And maybe, just maybe, the work you do will serve as a model for the wider problem and question facing our culture: how do we stop the dehumanization of others?
Isn’t that, at the core, exactly what you do? All of you help scared mothers realize and see the humanity of the precious preborn child in their wombs. They walk into your clinics—so many under the sway of the lies about a clump of cells, an inconvenience, a burden, and the belief that life is disposable—and you get to be the ones who offer them a lifeline, rescuing them from that darkness that has enveloped them.
But you don’t stop there, do you? You also offer them support, care, and hope. Hope is what so many of these parents need in those crucial moments. In doing so, once again, there is an echo of the Isaiah passage, uttered by an old prophet, ages ago. For, he relayed a promise that a Child would be born to a people darkened by lies, conspiracies, and death. And he said that Child would usher in the light as a Wonderful Counselor and a Prince of Peace.
The solution that society needed is the same one we need in our own time: our Lord, taking on flesh, coming to meet us in our broken humanity, and calling us to a better way to live—one filled with hope.
So, let me express my gratitude to you for offering hope to those in need. The latest headlines reveal that includes all of us.
This article is a modified version of Brent’s remarks given to the Tennessee Pregnancy Care Network on July 15, 2024.
