I was standing outside the abortion clinic in the fall of the year. It was Wednesday, abortion day, which meant about twenty women would enter the clinic and end the lives of their unborn children. We were a group of fifteen people, standing in protest outside this clinic, and praying against the injustice of what was happening inside. Some of us were urging these young women to change their minds, offering to help them make a life-affirming choice.
One young woman approached the clinic, her head down, her hands covering her ears, as she walked toward a decision that she would live with for the rest of her life. I felt such sorrow for this young woman. What voices does she hear as she lies down at night? Does she understand that the Lover of her soul has nothing but grace for her? I know the destroyer of souls longs for her to remain in bondage to lies of death and shame.
In a different venue, I listened as six post-abortive women shared their stories of loss and healing. They told how God had freed them from the lies that kept them in shame for years. It was raw, painful, and beautiful, as these women told how the good news had set them free. Jesus forgives sinners!
One woman told how she had bought the lie that an abortion would solve her problems—that she would be able to continue on with her life as though nothing had happened. Satan was the deceiver, telling her that abortion was nothing to worry about, that she could get on with her life as it was before, if she would just end her pregnancy. She remembers hearing that voice of deception as she was in the abortion clinic before she ended the life of her unborn child. Then immediately after the abortion, while recovering in the clinic, Satan switched tactics, and began to accuse her. She heard lies like, “You have done what is unforgivable” and “No one will ever love you.”
Never before had I heard someone describe the work of our enemy with such clarity and pain. It is what Satan does. First he deceives us into sin, and then he continues with his lies, accusing us afterwards. He has come to kill and destroy, while Jesus has come to give us life.
We speak against the lies of the deceiver because we love people. We refuse to buy the lie that to be pro-life means you are anti-women. We speak against the lies of the deceiver who says that the cross of Christ is not enough for our sin. His mercy is great and his love is relentless. He loves us with passion—the passion of One dying for his lost children. We have the privilege of walking with others and telling them this freeing message of grace and truth.
Rev. Rich Iverson is the Associate Pastor for Faith @ Home at Bethel Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.