Preserving the Precious, Protecting the Weak

Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9 NKJV

I heard a true story about a prisoner, watching as a Mother Robin built her nest in a precarious place on a chain link fence outside the window of the prison. 

The prisoner watched as the Mother sat on her nest, protecting her young, even before they were born, from the elements that beat down vehemently upon her. 

Fearful for the fate of the baby birds, the prisoner watched as day by day, the Mother tried to care for her young under incredibly difficult circumstances. 

Finally, they fell from the nest, onto the rocks below. Heartbroken and helpless to do anything to help the sweet, innocent birds, the prisoner wept. 

And the prisoner watched as a guard, taking some pity on the fledgling robins, placed them on a napkin in the shade. 

To the prisoner's dismay, along came two more prison guards. Laughing, they threw the baby birds into the sewage drain, and walked away . . . 

And so weeping, the prisoner watched from behind the prison bars. 

This is the devastation of sin in the world. This is the no "happy ending." This is the tragedy and the loss and the chaos and the sorrow. 

This story made me feel sick, that deep, sorrowing sick, when we realize that the unthinkable has happened. 

And this week, I watched a woman drink wine and talk nonchalantly about selling the organs of aborted babies. 

I watched as she enjoyed life while talking about death. 

I watched as she ate and drank and celebrated the monetary benefits that an aborted babies' heart, lungs, and liver could deliver to an organization supported by taxpayer's funds. 

And I, like so many others, felt sick. 

The unthinkable . . . playing out on a camera with words and lips and wine and flippancy and the casual toss of a fork into a salad.

And she spoke of the intentional grasp of forceps that were careful not to crush the parts of a baby that would bring a profit--oh yes, discard the rest, the parts that were unwanted, unloved, and a burden to a woman and to an unfeeling society that has almost lost its conscience. 

Throw away those parts. 

Keep the ones that will rake in a profit. Heart, lungs, liver. 

His heart must be broken. 

My heart was broken . . . how much more, His?

The devastation of sin, the crushing, the destruction, the chaos. 

An innocent baby, thrown into a garbage can.

Innocent baby Robins, thrown into a sewer.

And the world turns away distracted eyes and overlooks and laughs and carries on with "life."

So I ask, how must we respond to these kinds of tragedies, these kinds of attitudes, this kind of sorrow?

With despair? Or with hope? 

He sees the falling of the sparrow. He formed the small one in the womb. He knows each tiny, infinite detail. And He weeps and loves. 

As His, we have a sacred duty. 

A duty to speak for those "appointed to die," a duty to protect the innocent, to defend the weak and the small and the powerless. 

And when we do this, there is hope. 

We make tiny ripples in the pools of complacency. 

We stoop down and we lift tiny birds dying in the scorching sun and we protect them and we nurture them and we set them free to live. 

We touch the hand, the heart of the unwed mother and we speak truth and we speak hope and we speak life and we pray that her eyes and her heart may be opened not to destroy life, but to preserve it. 

Because all life is precious. 

And when we ignore the evil around us, when we refuse to speak, when we will do nothing, are we not just as guilty as the perpetrators of evil? 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor and theologian executed by hanging under Hitler's regime wrote: 

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. 

We must speak. We must act. We must love. We must not be afraid. 

In the little circumstances of life and in the great ones. May we not be silent when confronted by evil. May we not be so comfortable in this fading life that we don't long for the next. May we not overlook evil because it makes our life a little easier. For now. 

Because there is hope. Hope for individuals, hope for the crushed hurting, hope beyond the grave. 

At times we grow afraid. It appears that evil has won.

It has not. He is bringing all things, all events into the fruition of His will; He is ordering the paths of the nations; He is working in unseen ways Hope and Heaven and deliverance and peace. 

And we are sojourners here. For a short time. For a brief hour. May we not let our lives be wasted. May we speak and protect and pray and trust and live for His kingdom--waiting and watching in hope. 

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate Mondays, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Theology Thursdays, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking Thursday, Every Day Jesus, Count My Blessings, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Blessing Counters Link Party, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday, RaRaLinkup