[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fstill-a-live-issue":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fstill-a-live-issue-surround":67},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":50,"date":51,"description":18,"extension":52,"image":53,"meta":54,"minRead":55,"navigation":56,"path":57,"postType":58,"publication":59,"publicationUrl":53,"seo":60,"stem":61,"topics":62,"__hash__":66},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fstill-a-live-issue.md","Still a Live Issue",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Psalms","Proverbs","Luke",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":46},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43],[16,17,18],"p",{},"Andy Metas works as a building manager for a Manhattan skyscraper on New York's Third Avenue. His grandparents came to the United States from Greece soon after World War I, and his dad was a building manager before him. A lot of gray sparkles from Andy's black hair, but his darker features still contrast sharply with his wife Laura's blonde hair and fair Irish complexion.",[16,20,21],{},"Their five children—all adopted—came from Korea, the United States, Romania, China, and the Philippines. The oldest, Korean-born Rebecca, is 13. The youngest, Filipino-born Ryan, is 6. \"Not to mention Shiloh, our Australian cattle dog,\" grins Andy. Romanian-born Rachel's first word was \"nee-how,\" a Chinese greeting she learned from her sister.",[16,23,24],{},"When all seven members of the Metas family smile at the camera, their family portrait looks like something you might see hanging on the wall at the United Nations. And it reminds us that all the rhetoric about the sanctity of life boils down to flesh-and-blood people like these with real names and faces—little boys and girls who need a mom and a dad to love them.",[16,26,27],{},"It's tempting to grow weary of the battle for life. Haven't we heard enough sermons and political debates about abortion? Aren't we sick of Dr. Kevorkian's euthanasia campaign, ugly news about murdered abortion doctors, and nasty sound bites from screaming extremists? Haven't these issues been talked to death already?",[16,29,30],{},"Talked to death? That's just the point. We shouldn't quit talking when innocent people still face death, including 4,200 unborn babies a day in the United States alone—precious individuals whose hearts beat, whose nerves feel pain, whose tiny fingerprints are unique to them.",[16,32,33],{},"God still knits babies together in their mothers' wombs (Psalm 139:13). He still detests hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17). He sent his Son to earth through a miraculous conception and a woman's pregnancy—a gift of life that caused the preborn infant we call John the Baptist to leap for joy in his mother's womb (Luke 1:26–45). And some of the first to honor Christ were aging saints like Simeon and Anna who certainly hadn't outlived their usefulness in God's eyes. To paraphrase Jesus, \"What does God want us to do—save life or destroy it?\" (Luke 6:9).",[16,35,36],{},"I think we know the answer.",[16,38,39],{},"The Bible says, \"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it?\" (Proverbs 24:11, 12).",[16,41,42],{},"That's why we must continue to speak up for the rights of unborn children, the elderly, the sick, and the mentally challenged. It's why churches need to keep teaching biblical ethics, while reaching out in love with counseling and practical assistance to unwed mothers, troubled kids, the poor, and those who struggle with postabortion guilt. It's why we need to keep supporting Christian ministries that address these needs day by day. It's why we must keep voicing our concerns with gracious firmness that communicates with our neighbors instead of merely agitating them.",[16,44,45],{},"\"I wish more families would consider adopting,\" Laura says while her children play nearby. \"There are so many beautiful children all over the world literally dying for a family.\"",{"title":47,"searchDepth":48,"depth":48,"links":49},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","1999-01-17","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fstill-a-live-issue","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Fstill-a-live-issue",[63,64,65],"Christian Unity","Intergenerational Ministry","Biblical Theology","SmRTRSehqCXrYh10pxl6yVzmRQQbzA4fouhYBdjCBZQ",[68,73],{"title":69,"path":70,"stem":71,"description":72,"children":-1},"Spinning out of Control","\u002Farticles\u002Fspinning-out-of-control","articles\u002Fspinning-out-of-control","Recently I conducted an informal survey and asked people to finish the sentence, \"It's hard to tell the truth when . . .\" Nearly 200 people responded, ranging from age four to age 79.",{"title":74,"path":75,"stem":76,"description":74,"children":-1},"Take It Personally","\u002Farticles\u002Ftake-it-personally","articles\u002Ftake-it-personally"]