Change vs Unchanging

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 
by Diane Albers, President of Lutherans For Life 

Change, change. Nobody likes change, least of all Lutherans! But, of course change is inevitable. From the moment you began, you changed very quickly. By the time you were attached to your mother’s uterus—a week after fertilization—you were a growing cluster of 100 cells. 

After you are born, adults will comment on how big you are getting as you learn to walk and talk, and soon you're off to school. You're changing and growing into your own person, and suddenly—or so it seems to adults—you're graduating from high school. The next phase is job training or college and then a job. You get married, raise a family, and, all too soon, you are the one who needs care from your offspring. Change is inevitable. 

For a long time abortion was illegal, but change came with Roe v. Wade, and it was not a good change. At first, not many people protested this change, and even some religious leaders and church bodies agreed that it was a good decision. However, some church bodies, like Roman Catholics and some Lutherans became more vocal For Life. Leaders like Lutherans For Life’s own Dr. Jean Garton, Nellie Gray (founder of the March for Life—there were 20,000 at the first March in 1974), and Dr. Bernard Nathanson (former abortionist who produced The Silent Scream in 1984) began to educate people on preborn life. 

Of course, things changed with the Dobbs decision, which moved the abortion issue back to the states. We know that our work is not done. We still have to support our pregnancy help centers and work with the politicians in our state to uphold life-affirming laws. But the whole abortion issue has changed with the mobile abortion units that travel along state lines, major companies paying for abortions and travel expenses for employees, and, worst of all, chemical abortion pills that can be ordered online without a doctor involved at all. 

As the For Life movement grew up, other life issues have been added: living with disabilities, adoption and foster care, infanticide, cloning, stem cell research, physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, and more. Life is being assailed from so many directions. This can be frustrating, anger-inducing, and depressing. We want to uphold the blessings of Life, but what can we really do to change things 

Life with all its changes is a good and perfect gift from the Father, and nothing can change that. We know that there will always be changes in laws and politics, and we can only change that as best as we can. We take comfort that the Father does not change like shifting shadows. In today’s world, changes are swift and inevitable, but our faith and trust in our unchanging God are the comforts that sustain us!