Advent-ure December 13: Light of the World

God is calling each of us to step into His light, following the principles of His Word and walking in His Spirit.  Jesus taught in John chapter 3:
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Jesus has come to illuminate our hearts - He will show us where our lives are not lining up to His standards, forgive us of our sins, and empower us to walk in His light.  The Bible warns against the ways of the world and provides a credible alternative to its philosophies.  When we follow the Lord, He displays Himself through His people, so others might see and perhaps come to know His love. The answers of this world are insufficient in light of the wisdom of God.

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We continue our journey through the Faith Radio Advent Guide, Around the World in 25 Days! Today, we visit the country of Sweden, where today, St. Lucia’s Day is commemorated. According to the website, WonderfulTime.com, on December 13, a young Swedish girl, St. Lucia, a 4th-Century martyr, is honored. She is believed to have brought food to persecuted Christians in Rome, wearing candles on her head to free up her hands.

The corresponding Scripture verse is found in John 8:12, which says:
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

The subsequent verses state:
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."
14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.

St. Lucia's Day is centered around the image of a young girl bringing light into darkness.  In John 8, Jesus taught on the light He was bringing into the world.  We see darkness all around us in the form of rejection of Christ and His teaching, hostility to God's principles, and ignorance of His ways.  His truth brings light, clarity, and hope.

If you read today's blog post of this commentary, you may not want to follow the links.  I provide the links for further insight, but some of the language that you may find will be rather rough and even graphic.  But, I think the exchanges are instructive, and demonstrate the unfortunate perspective of someone who wants to "shout her abortion" and denigrate pro-life people who dare present another perspective.

There's an actor named Jameela Jamil; she's on a show called, The Good Place.  Yes, that's the one about heaven with Kristen Bell and Ted Danson.  But, there's really nothing good in what Jamil has to say about her unabashed support for abortion.  The Daily Wire website relates:

Ms. Jamil, who has called her abortion the “best decision” of her life, posted the expletive-laced message after she was criticized for agreeing with fellow abortion-promoting feminist Gloria Steinem that democracy is impossible without abortion-on-demand.

She described the actions of those responding negatively to her comments as "trolling," and said they were "clueless," in a mean-spirited tweet with profanity.  She added, "My life *is* more important to me than an unborn fetus’ one..."  The article says that the actor believes that abortion should be available "for any reason."

The Twitchy website published another tweet from Jamil, in which she said:

Receiving THOUSANDS of messages about how I made a mistake having an abortion 7 years ago and how I must be a miserable person... I am in fact a happy, thriving multi millionaire, madly in love, with free time, good sleep and a wonderful career and life. But thanks for checking

Liz Wheeler of the One America News Network responded by tweeting, "Isn't it fundamentally insulting to women to suggest that we can't do both - be mothers with babies AND have thriving careers & lives?...Terrible message to send to women to insinuate we aren't capable of juggling it all."

Outspoken columnist Allie Beth Stuckey tweeted, "Having babies and leading a fulfilling, successful life aren’t mutually exclusive. Yours is a terribly low view of women’s capabilities." She added: "Also, this line of reasoning could be used to justify anything. 'I stole a million dollars from the bank, and you guys said it was a mistake, but now I’m a millionaire and my life is great, so there!'"

Social media can certainly be brutal, and you can see that in the tweets that were posted.  In another profanity-tinged tweet, according to another Twitchy article, we discover Jamil hurled the insult that pro-lifers were only "pro-birth," and mentioned that there were "plenty of harmless, starving babies," and that there were over 100,000 kids who were seeking foster care, to which Stuckey responded:
"...this trope is tired. For the millionth time- who gives charity? Who adopts? Who takes in foster children? Who provides help and aid and clothes and refuge for moms in crisis? I’ll give you a hint: it ain’t the pro choice side."

Fact is, as Allie Stuckey contends, those who are pro-life, despite charges to the contrary, are concerned about the women, as well as their unborn babies.  And, Christ-centered pregnancy resource centers care about the souls of the women who visit seeking answers.  Christians are at the forefront of encouraging adoption.  The "pro-birth" argument is certainly tired, and even the mischaracterization of pro-lifers as only caring about the baby is misguided.  We can always be sensitized to opportunities to show the love of Christ for those in crisis.

And, despite Jameela Jamil's insistence to the contrary, it is not a badge of honor to "shout your abortion."  There is an organized campaign encouraging women to proudly publicize the fact they they terminated the life of their unborn child.  An Alliance Defending Freedom blog post states:

Oprah’s website published the story of how the “Shout Your Abortion” campaign got started by a young woman named Amelia Bonow in 2015. Bonow says sharing about her abortion on social media is important because “the anti-choice movement wants it to be terrifying to speak the truth.”

But if the #ShoutYourAbortion campaign was really about truth, it would share the stories of the thousands of women who deeply regret their abortion.

“What irks me the most,” writes Janet Morana in the Washington Examiner “is that thousands of courageous women who speak publicly about their abortions, and the lifetime of regret that has followed, are, as usual, being left out of the conversation.”

Janet Morana is the co-founder of Silent No More, an organization of women who also want to share their experience with abortion—but not in support. These women want to share their personal stories because they are intimately familiar with the painful reality of abortion, and they want to help women to choose life.

So, even though Jamil is upbeat about her heinous act, the fact is that sin has consequences, and it is irresponsible to display arrogance on this topic.  And, for someone so happy, it does seem that she is rather angry in her response to those who would challenge her.  Fortunately, there is forgiveness and hope in the Lord for those who will step into the light of Christ.