By: The Rev. Peggy Means
Now this is a promise we can count on! In John’s vision of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we can see a glimpse of the great battle between good and evil, the ultimate Victory of Our Lord, and the reality of the Promise of Eternal Life. These verses are my touchstone! It’s hard to take the long view of Eternal Life in the midst of our sin. When we choose to terminate the life of an unborn child, we think we are taking the long view; asking ourselves things like, “How will I finish school? What will my parents or my friends say? How can I afford this? How can I bring a baby into this world with my own addictions and failings?” We look at our own future, anticipating the difficulties of life with a newborn. We don’t even consider the consequences of this decision. We worry only about our own life. We embrace the lies of the world, look only to ourselves, and make this selfish decision to have an abortion.
I used to think that the sin of abortion was best left buried deep inside. I lived with the belief that I would always have this pain, guilt, and shame bound up inside me. I couldn’t bring myself to even read Revelation. All I could see was the evil! But as a young Christian, eager to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, yet still hanging on to this one sin, a wise woman of God taught me about the Hope that comes only through Jesus Christ. She advised me to study the New Testament first so that I would come to know that Resurrected Life was available to all those who truly repented. She prayerfully led me to understand that even the sin of abortion could not prevent me from living this Resurrected Life with thanksgiving and joy. As I matured in my faith and sought reconciliation from church, I came to understand hope more and more.
Even a woman with a past is precious to the Lord. His unselfish act on the Cross made it possible, even for me, to see my life through a long view lens! John gives us this picture of the battle that rages in our own souls as we face into our sins and seek reconciliation and redemption. This battle will continue in various degrees as long as we are on this side of the Kingdom. But once we see this temporal world with an eternal perspective, the Hope that sustains us through Jesus Christ becomes the touchstone we count on! We no longer live with burden weighing us down, holding us back from the peace and joy and love that come from true redemption. We can live a transformed life in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.