“But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.” Mark 10:6-9
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalms 139:13-16
Recently, I watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0tQZhEisaE as Dr. Levatino testified before a Congressional committee about the procedures used in abortion. This gruesome depiction was stated by this doctor who had performed hundreds of abortions. Piece by piece a baby was dissected while in the womb, bringing out to the surgical table an arm here, a leg here, the head…you get the picture. He must ensure that all the body parts are accounted for, because any un-extracted parts from the womb could cause infections and complications in the mother.
The psalmist makes clear that God knits (or weaves) together the parts of a baby in the mother’s womb. That is HIS handiwork…His venue…His operational space. This makes perfect sense if we acknowledge that He is our Creator and our bodies belong to Him. Think of it – the Creator is present in the creation of a baby – in the sanctuary of the womb. Where God is – it is holy, is it not? As advanced as is modern medical science, those scientists do not know the mystery of life and breath, yet, they know how to invade that sanctuary and dismember that which the Almighty is knitting together. In another Youtube video, I watched a women try to convince this Congressional committee that abortion was moral. I am not an ethicist, but I need not to be in order to understand when evil is called good.
Not only does the psalmist insist that Yahweh was fully present and aware of the life He was creating, but the unformed substance was written in His book. In all my struggles to search for significance in this life, how have I missed the significance that every day of my life was written in His Book before I was formed? Talk about planned parenthood! Every day of our life was planned and formed for our eventual arrival via birth. Not only does an abortionist destroy a life, but that doctor subverts the plans of God. Though our generation recoils and rejects the murder indictment, there is also the charge of rebellion and subversion against the Most High in violating His sanctuary and eradicating His plans.
So what does the Jesus narrative about the topic of divorce have to do with all of this? Jesus reminded the religious leaders that the purpose of God making male and female was for the two to become one flesh – whatever that means. After living with my wife for more than forty years, we end up thinking the same way, using the same words, just “knowing” what each other is thinking. I suppose all of that is some semblance of this one-fleshness. The most obvious meaning of this concept must be how the body parts fit together for the purpose of “filling the earth” with other humans. It seems to me that the outcome of that consummate “fitting together” results in a “one-flesh” (e.g. baby). The necessary components of the female and male are, each, the contributing factors in this new creation, being knit by the handiwork of God. The child is a manifestation of the one flesh – indivisible. HOWEVER, mankind (doctors, moms, dads) have decided to separate what God has joined together – doing exactly what Jesus said should not be done. Yes, I know that this is out of context because Jesus was addressing divorce- the separating that which God had joined together in marriage. How could this be any less applicable to that which God had joined together in the womb?
In an era where “safe spaces” must be allocated for university students too fragile to withstand the pressures of dissenting opinions, those same safety officers think nothing of the invasion of the supposed safe space of the womb. I can only shake my head, ultimately bowing my head in humility – actual shame – for our wickedness, wondering if I can actually ask the Lord of Life to forgive us. Is the granting of forgiveness contingent on repentance? How does our generation repent if it is convinced that abortion is moral, giving rights to a mother’s preferences to destroy the handiwork of God? Still, I ask…Father forgive us for we know not what we do.
Photo by Daniel Joshua on Unsplash