Out Of Order

Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, CA

Months ago, we taught Silas how to count to twenty. Recently, he has been skipping six. Poor six.

In general, going out of order is considered a foolish thing. However, because this world is nuanced and diverse, experience tells me that going out of order is not always bad.

Sometimes, you can skip page two of the instruction manual because you’ve figured out a shortcut in your head.

Sometimes, a visionary leader seemingly puts the cart before the horse because he or she can see something the rest of us can’t see.

Sometimes, people seemingly go out of order when really they’re obeying the Lord and exercising a great deal of faith. Noah built an ark before there was any sign of a flood. Joseph oversaw the collection of food for seven years, preparing for a famine that no one could predict outside of supernatural heads-up-ery.

Many times, however, going out of order leads to undesired consequences.

A little over a week ago, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned ‘Roe v Wade’ and ‘Planned Parenthood v. Casey’ in the ‘Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization’ decision, sending the decision of abortion’s legality (and at how many weeks of gestation it is to be legal) back to the states. For almost 50 years, many Americans were hoping that ‘Roe v Wade’ would be codified into federal law through our legislative branch. For years, people have thought through the legal, biological, ethical, philosophical, and human flourishing questions related to abortion. From those thoughts came conviction. From those convictions came prayer and action.

A primary question has been: what’s the proper order?

Legally, what’s the proper order to pass a federal law in the United States? Law-passing is Congress’s responsibility, not the Supreme Court’s. The Supreme Court is meant to be the least campaign-y branch of our government. And yet, since ‘Roe v Wade,’ presidential elections have centered on (potential) Supreme Court appointments in an effort to overturn it. Our institutions have not benefited from this out-of-order decision.  

Biologically, the question has been, what’s the proper order for making new life? When did your life begin?

Ethically, the question has been, what’s the proper order for helping both women and the unborn? Who do we protect? Can we protect both?

Philosophically, the question has been, what’s the proper order for the good life? “My body, my choice” has been a popular slogan in our individualized age, saying the good life is defined by personal autonomy. But for those who believe in Christ, let’s remind ourselves of question number one of the Heidelberg Catechism. It’s question number one for a reason. It goes back to creation order. It goes back to our identity. 

Q: What is your only comfort in life and death?

A: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

I’m currently reading “You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God In an Inhuman World” by Dr. Alan Noble. It’s about post-modern society, and how like a lion pacing back and forth in a zoo, we can sense that something isn’t right about the unrooted environments we find ourselves living in. These post-modern environments weren't made for us. In contrast to modern slogans, I am, in fact, not my own; and that is such a good thing. I belong to Him, and I can trust in His unchanging Word.

Human-flourishing wise, the question has been, what’s the proper order to see human-flourishing in our broken world? I’m not just talking about economic flourishing, but soul-flourishing. There is decay around us. Jesus came to heal, to restore, to save, to initiate deep life change, to usher in the kingdom of hope. Women who find themselves in crisis pregnancies may not think there is any hope. It’s a hard situation. Truly. The darkness is real. Keep the baby and face financial distress, a career setback, a permanent reminder of a painful season, and the need to confess a mistake or talk openly about abuse. Choose an abortion and face a future of shame. The shame a woman carries after an abortion is heavy. 

My heart goes out.

I was among those who celebrated the overturning of ‘Roe v Wade,’ but I did so with a great deal of sobriety because the darkness is still very real. I’ve been following the work of the (&) Campaign and the Psalm 139 Project (there are many others) and I am constantly learning from those who have stepped into these hard and heartbreaking places. May we love. May we continue to pray. May we continue to seek Jesus and His kingdom. And may we ask Him if He’s calling us to foster or adopt or financially support a whole-life ministry.

“For You created my innermost parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in Your book were written
All the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.”

Psalm 139:13-16

Grace and peace.