Two Very Different Responses to God's Message -- One Leading to Life, the Other to Death

Monday, three women chose life over abortion at Charlotte's busiest abortion center. Every saved baby is a thrill and cause for rejoicing. We never take any of them for granted. There are often days where we don't have the privilege of seeing the fruit of our hours on the sidewalks proclaiming life.

But this Monday, we were given that joy. A couple pulled out of the abortion mill after listening to my team on the mic and on the sidewalks. They looked relieved as they rolled down their windows.
"May I ask what changed your minds?" I asked them, after we gave them gifts and our phone numbers to contact if they needed any help.

"You all!" the mom said. "You are wonderful people. Thank you for all you are doing here."

One young man whose girlfriend was getting an abortion came over to talk to us. My counselor friend was convicting him of the terrible choice to abort. He knew it was wrong, but he tried to rationalize his reasons. "And you all are just making it harder on us," he said.
"That's because it should be harder!" I said. "It should never be easy to make a choice to harm your own child."

With that, he walked away. We knew he felt guilty, and can only pray that the seeds planted of God's truths will bear fruit one day. Sadly, they did not on this day in him.

Two very different responses to our exact same presence. One rejoiced that we had convicted them of the rightness of the choice for life. One was angry that we had convicted them of the wrongness of the choice for death.

The message was the same. The hearts that received the message made all the difference. I could not help but wonder, is my heart always open to hear the rightness of God rather than the wrongness of my sin?
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1 John 2:29 

If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

1 John 3:7 

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Isaiah 33:15-17 

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar.

Romans 5:1-5 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Psalm 106:3

Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!