"We are Family"

This has been a fascinating turn of events in the presidential campaign. Not picking sides, (I would pick neither) but something interesting to notice from the McCain campaign is the news about Sarah Palin's 17 yr old daughter, Bristol.

This compels us to think about something. I am about to be a first time father, so these type of things are rattling around in my head. How would we handle the situation? What would we do to prevent such a situaion? Every life is something to be cherished and celebrated. Would we freak out and take it out on our child? Would we become a tyrant and start making demands of our child? Will we express dissappointment in the decision, but also come along side them lift them up when they need it? Will we talk to them about Christ's plan for families, and still encourage them and be someone for them to come to and talk? I know there is a lot more to this than meets the eye, but as my mother-in-law says, "it is what it is, now what are we going to do with it?" There are so many things that can be considered and I haven't even scratched the surface of the issue, but what I want to get across is the importance of communication before and after. There are so many conversations that can be helpful in preventing the situation, however, such conversations are unfortunately few and far between.

The are some clear missiological implications of this situation. In the context that Christ has placed us, how will we deal with people that are going through similar situations? Christians need to be known as people of love. We need to be known as people that help make the sitatuion better, not worse. Am I for preserving the life of the baby and the mother? Absolutely. Am I pro-adoption? Sure. But before that, I am pro-christlike lifestyle. That means abstaining from sex before marriage, along with loving and expressing the love of Christ to those who are expressing that behavior, and also those who have to deal with the repurcussions of that behavior.

It is funny in some of the places I have worked, people are so timid to tell me they are pregnant or to talk to me about their lifestyle. They will chat it up behind my back, but when I'm in the room, they would either whisper or go somewhere else. After several months, they saw that they could talk to me about it. They could seek relationship advice. It took a while, but I became a counselor to them. They would come to me with their issues, and I had the oppurtunity to speak Christ into their lives.

So, the real question is what would you do, and who will you be?