For Love

I recently wrote a letter to a close friend of mine talking about love. It seems that I've been hearing about love everywhere now, whether it's God's love for us, our love for puppies, or love for our enemies. Particularly, love for all the abortion people. I've spoken briefly about my feelings toward pro-abortioners in my post about generalization "They're All Devils". I've developed since then; I can honestly say I'm starting to feel love towards these people. Not my love. I'm not capable of that. God's love.

I'll try to explain why. And how. Though it may be unexplainable.

Maybe it's because of Abby Johnson and her book Unplanned. I finished re-reading it a few hours ago. But then, maybe she's easy to love, because she's on our side now. She's obviously a very loving, warm-hearted person, and that's what drove her to first work at Planned Parenthood as a volunteer: a heart for people in crisis. She followed all the talking points and everything, and called peaceful, praying pro-lifers harrassers, but still, that's all behind us now, right?

Besides, there are all the negative things. The pro-abortion blogs and articles, where they freely spew filth and can make innocent ears quickly grow older. There are the disgusting clinics, stories of cold-hearted nurses and doctors, moving from one patient to the next as quickly as they can. The obvious lies. The protests to absolutely anything that might make the public think of the fetuses as human.

Except...that isn't all there is to it. There are the stories of kind nurses and doctors. There are the people who claim to have no regret. There are the pro-abortion blogs that tell stories of women relieved and thankful, of clean facilities, and kind-hearted people. The war zones. The disgust towards violent anti-choicers...and they're right. The sacrifice of funds and living space and time and energy. Low salaries. And they keep going.

But there's no doubt we're in a war. Hitler could have been the kindliest, warmest, most loving person in the world, but that doesn't make him right.

I read a website that had stories upon stories written by former abortion advocates (and yes, some actual abortionists). There are videos. People in tears. Perhaps this is what convicts me to pray for the pro-abortioners.

They're lost. They are so lost. And it breaks my heart. I hear stories all the time about what goes on in those clinics, even if they are sanitary and completely law-abiding and never send women to the hospital from botched abortions. Nightmares, alcohol, and marijuana.

Maybe there's a clean, law-abiding, safe, never-send-women-to-hospital, alcohol-and-marijuana-free clinic where no workers ever have nightmares about their jobs. They're all warm and friendly too and love the women they serve. They're truly pro-choice, and make as many adoption referalls and give as much parenting help as they give abortions. Even if this clinic existed, it doesn't make them right. It doesn't make them not lost. It doesn't make them non-empty. It simply doesn't compute.  I don't care how much they tell me they are perfectly happy champions of women, because I know it's not true. Abortion = no God = emptiness.

I'm reminded of Frank Peretti's book Prophet. Where a man begins to hear the anguished screaming of lost souls during his everyday life.

It doesn't matter if they will never be "converted". It doesn't matter if they participate in two hundred abortions a day. Love them for love's own sake. Why? We are commanded to. And they are God's children. Hitler was God's son. They are all God's children just as much as the children they are killing. Screaming at them, degrading them, and telling them to go f-bomb themselves isn't right, and it doesn't even work. Calling them baby-killers doesn't work. So please don't do it. Pray for them. Wish them a good day. You may never see the seeds you plant germinate, but plant them anyway. Love.

All images found via Google Images. Video taken from YouTube. No copyright infringement intended.