Good
Tuesday to ya friend and Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope this week finds
you among friends and family enjoying a faith tradition handed down by
the Pilgrims and Indians on that first Thanksgiving. This is a time
when people from totally differing cultures joined together to share a
time of food and peace. Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!
One
of the things that I am the most thankful for this season is life. I
have had the extreme privilege to be present at the birth of all 3 of my
daughters. Now 23, 21, and 17, their lives have brought a myriad of
emotions and learning experiences for me. For that I am thankful. I
also have had the extreme privilege of being married to their mother for
27 years. Again, a myriad of emotions and learning experiences for
me. For this I am also thankful. For 45 years my mother and father
were incredible examples of what a life together means. I am truly
blessed and grateful for their patience, discipline and unconditional
love. I could continue this list with the blessings of a brother who
is a man of integrity and strength, an extended family who daily provide
examples of what faithful living looks like, and a body of friends that
are incomparable. In short, this Thanksgiving season I am grateful for
life...and music!
One
of the reasons that music is written is to reflect a movement. These
movements can be political, social, or be the sort that sparks revival
for our nation. The Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame has recognized several of
these songs by including them as inductees. There is an irony with one
of those songs that is the subject of today's notes....
It
has been recorded in 22 different languages and has been sung as a
protest to war since its inception. Pete Seeger and Joe Hickerson are
credited with writing this song that was inducted into the Rock-n-Roll
Hall of Fame in 2002. It is a circular song in that it ends right back
where it began, with the flowers. Many artists, primarily those
associated with Folk Music, have recorded or performed the song. The
highest charting recording of the song is by The Kingston Trio. It hit
#21 on Billboard in 1962. It is a song that protests war of all kinds,
but specifically the United States interaction in the Viet Nam war.
This war spawned many protest songs that came out of the 60's. Some of
this music was embraced and still has a life today, while others faded
into obscurity shortly after they were released.
The
decade from 1960 - 1970 is known as one of incredible change in our
country. Young people all over the country were at the forefront of
that change. It is hard to imagine that the 18 year old of 1965 turned
66 in 2013. This decade is credited with the peace movement, the civil
rights movement, and the sexual revolution. While some of these changes
were good for our country, some of them allowed the incubation of some
very evil social
and political developments to creep into our society. The chiefest
among them is abortion. "When will they ever learn?"
Decisions
that we make every day have consequences. When decisions are made
selfishly the consequences usually do not turn out as intended. The
60's convinced a generation of people, and undoubtedly changed the
landscape of normality for the rest of time, that the physical aspects
of procreation were not limited to the confines of a good marriage.
This "free love" mentality would eventually have the effect of
pregnancies that were not planned. In steps, the enemy enacted a
perfect plan to destroy not only the life of the newly formed baby, but
the life of its parents as well. Since 1973, when the landmark Supreme
Court decision of Roe vs. Wade made abortion legal in the United States,
over 56 million lives have been lost through the process of abortion.
The numbers even get worse when you look at world wide abortions with
over 1 billion being performed.
(source: http://www.numberofabortions.com/)
The same generation that brought us "have love, not war" brought us the
issue of a woman's right to choose. A little ironic....don't ya think?
The total number of casualties for the Viet Nam war (over 500,000
civilian and combatant deaths) pale in comparison to the statistics for
abortions. "When will they ever learn?"
Many
have studied and debated the ramifications of abortion. One thing that
I don't think is considered enough is the consequences to our country's
economy. Think about the 56+ million workers who were never allowed to
contribute to Social Security and the country's tax base. Could one of
these 56+ million been the one to cure cancer? Questions like this
have been and will continue to be debated until Christ followers
understand and embrace the Biblical model of the sanctity of human
life. Aside from the 6th commandment, the Bible is replete with
instructions on how we are to treat our fellow human being's lives. In
the poetic book of Job it is written: “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life."
(Job 33:4 NASB) This was written as Job was going through some of the
worst criticism from "friends" for the tragedies that had occurred in
his life. Yet, Job recognized where life came from and when it began.
Out of this knowledge was birthed a worship that was able to overcome
the worst of the calamaties that he had faced.
From inception
to natural death, God is consistent with his commands regarding murder.
In my opinion, many politicians and even professing believers want to
muddy the waters of the debate by saying abortion is acceptable in cases
of rape, incest, or the survival of the mother. I can't find God's
Word backing that particular stance up anywhere. While each of these
are circumstances that are not desirable, we must have faith in God's plan...not our own. "When will they ever learn?"
Please
understand, as we have said so many times, there is hope in a restored
relationship with God through Jesus. Abortion is a sin. Jesus came to
restore the relationship between God and sinners. That includes me,
that includes you, that includes those who perform abortions as well as
those who make the decisions to have them. God want's a relationship
with you regardless of what you have done in and with your life. That
relationship can be established through the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus. Be thankful for life....this one and the one to come.
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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