I first became involved in pro-life work back in 2006 when I read in a national newspaper a double page spread in which an aborted baby was born alive and, gasping for breath, was left to die. It broke me and in a flood of tears I thought, how can a civilised and just society sanction such barbarity?
Since then, I have contacted churches right across this nation and one of the things I have discovered about its response to abortion is that it's still a taboo issue in many churches.
It has been my experience over these 14 years that trying to get speakers in to talk about this issue in churches is like trying to draw blood from a stone. No matter how gracious and sensitive the speakers might be, the pulpits of this nation, on the whole, remain closed.
There is also a lot of fear and a lack of knowledge on abortion, and in some cases, a lack of urgency. I have heard it said to me, "God has given you a burden for the unborn, God has given me a burden for the poor." But are the two mutually exclusive? Surely 1 Cor 12:25-26 states that we should have mutual concern for one another and if one part suffers, we all suffer. So why can't the Church be supportive of both and give a platform to both?
Someone else once said to me: "When Revival comes, that will sort out abortion." Well, yes, of course that would be true but really it is a cop-out of not confronting the issue. Taking that reasoning to its logical conclusion, do you mean to tell me that if there was a child sex trafficking gang in your locality all you would do is pray for a Great Awakening so that they would be convicted of their sin and stop? Of course not. You would take action to save those kids from having their lives ruined and you would make sure that those evil people responsible for this atrocity were brought to justice. So,my question is: why will so many in the Church not seek justice for the unborn who are going to be denied the life that God has ordained for them?
Why will we not talk about abortion in church? Why is it swept under the carpet as we walk by on the other side? It seems that we are not ashamed of the Gospel when it comes to highlighting - as we should - the terrible injustice of poverty and the evil of human trafficking, but it does appear that we are ashamed of the Gospel when it comes to abortion. Is it because we do not want the reproach, rejection and yes, hatred, that will come when we make a stand against the selfish desires of this world that manifest itself in taking away the life of innocent human beings who have no voice of their own? Is it out of fear that we do not get involved?
We need to offer the hand of hope and restoration to those women - and men - who have been scarred by abortion. After all, the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a showcase for saints. We all as churches across our land need to have the compassion and courage to stop and offer even a cup of tea and a listening ear to a woman in crisis, and support her and tell her that we as a Church will be with her all the way through her pregnancy.
And we need to support those organisations like Christian Concern, CBR UK, Right to Life UK and The Christian Institute that are exposing the horror of abortion at a national level.
If all churches rallied together in doing this, we could see abortion ended in our lifetime.
We all want a Great Awakening but I believe there will be no Great Awakening in our nation until the Church has the boldness, irrespective of the consequences, to proclaim what is right and just in the eyes of God. That will mean, most critically defending and standing for God's image in the womb. Please don't be indifferent on this; have courage and show that you are not ashamed of the Gospel when it comes to abortion because this greatest injustice of our generation is deeply embedded in the heart of the Father, and He looking to His Church to be His voice and stand for what is right in the midst of a crooked and godless generation.
Steve Jack runs Oxford Christian Heritage Tours and the Candle of Hope Facebook page to offer support for women considering abortion.
