Chandra White-Cummings
Day 6: Knowing Us
One reason often given for the acceptability of abortion is that what resides within the woman’s womb is not really a person, but a sort of pre- or potential person. The Bible supports the premise that God sees us the opposite way–fully human people with potential. He speaks of knowing David and Jeremiah before they were born. Not just believing they could exist, but knowing them as already existing. That’s a mind-blowing concept, one which today’s reading considers.
The “potential person” perspective is actually important because it highlights a problem common to us all. We’re uncomfortable with things that don’t seem concrete to us. If we can’t see it and experience it in a fully physical way, our response is modified accordingly. Not being able to see the child as what we recognize as a fully developed baby interferes with our ability to relate to him in the way God related to us before we were fully developed. That’s why developments like the ultrasound are so critical. It allows us a glimpse into the mystery of what the Bible refers to as being “knit together.” But God didn’t need an ultrasound to relate to us. Psalm 139:16 tells us of a God who plans and considers the entirety of our life before we are born. We’re known by Him. This realization introduces a stunning revelation into the abortion debate. More than just a physical reality is destroyed. A person whom God knows is gone.
Many women who considered abortion have spoken about how seeing their child via ultrasound changed their mind. I know one of those women. God knew her child then, and now we know her too.
Find out more at the 40 Days for Life website.
Previous Posts
• Day 5: Mercy in the Midst of Judgment