For some reason I have not thought about it lately. Maybe because I attend a Christian school where a debate over something such as this rarely happens because we all share the same view. Or maybe because it is such a horrible thing, that I choose not to dwell on it too long. But it is something that I truly hate, and I was once again reminded of it this last Sunday in church. Every time I think of the millions of babies who have lost their lives by the act of abortion, my heart starts to ache. More lives have been lost to abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision than all of the casualties of every American war combined. And my heart hurts because it is legal, these precious lives have no say in the matter, and it is such an example of how sin has tainted society's value of human life. I had an article sent to me from Albert Mohler's website (albertmohler.com) that presented the abortion issue so clearly, and I have decided to share parts of it with you:

"You just try for a few moments - and it is our responsibility to try - to get into that world and to try to think abortion through. You will come to understand that abortion makes sense to people who think that our existence is primarily about our rights - that we are human beings who stand on our own two feet, that we are autonomous human beings, that we are answerable to no one, that we are our own independent moral agents, and that we have the right to decide who will live and who will die.
In the world of the Bible, that is simply unthinkable. In a world that begins with the sovereignty of God, that is absolutely unimaginable. In a world that is a Scripture, Gospel-world, the question is - how can we be found faithful and reflect the glory of God in every dimension of our lives?
We come to understand that we fall short of the glory of God, but we understand that we were made for the glory of God. To turn that on its head and decide that we ourselves will become the judge of who will live and who shall die - that is unthinkable." - Albert Mohler

Kids say the darndest things

As a first grade Sunday School teacher, I get to 90 minutes a week with some of God's most precious gifts. The cherry on top of this whole opportunity (in addition to sharing the good news of Jesus with them) is that not only are they precious, but they are HILARIOUS! One week I spent 10 minutes asking "Who's there?" as these seven year-olds threw knock-knock joke after knock-knock joke at me.

Me: "Where did you learn all of these knock-knock jokes?"

seven year-old jokster: "My joke machine. I'm a joke master."

Me: "You certainly are a joke master."

I also have had the opportunity to listen to some very cute prayers, but I do not think anything will trump what I heard last Sunday from a little boy in my class who had volunteered to bless our snack of gold fish crackers and water.

seven year-old boy: "Dear Lord, thank you for Sunday School today.

Help us not to become Jewish. Thank you for our snack.

Amen."

Thankfully, I was able to thank him for a prayer well done and excuse the rest of the class to snack without bursting into laughter...but I was close. I have absolutely no idea where he got "help us not to become Jewish." Now, in this boy's defense, I am positive he did not mean this comment in an anti-Semitic way whatsoever. I merely think he used deductive reasoning with what he knows about the Jewish people, which probably is limited to these facts: 1) The Jewish leaders did not believe in Jesus and 2) The Jews are the people who wanted Jesus crucified. And I guess those were reasons enough for him to express his desire for all 22 of us in the room to resist any desire we might have to suddenly switch religious affiliations.

The more time I spend with first graders, the more fun I have.