The Planned Parenthood video and what makes me angry

The other day, right after I had a conversation with a friend about the fact that there are children living in unsafe situations right now because there are not enough good foster homes to place them in, I got on Facebook and saw my newsfeed covered with angry status' on Planned Parenthood and abortion - but nothing about the everyday state of so many children in our own neighborhoods. Why don't we get as fired up about the number of children who are living in abusive situations this very moment, who are going to sleep lonely and hurting, who are dying of hunger, as we do about a video on Planned Parenthood?

Why is there this inconsistency? If we call ourselves pro-life, we must be pro ALL life. I do not think abortion is ever God's desire- but if we're serious about stopping it, an angry post on Facebook isn't going to do it. It takes going out of our comfort zones, forming relationships with those in our community, getting to know families and mothers and dealing with the messy, hard root issues that exist all around us.

Friends, I am angered by abortion as well - but I am just as angered by the issues that lead so many women to get abortions in the first place, and our failure (especially as the Church) to recognize that we MUST address these issues whenever we address abortion. And I am just as angered by the fact that there so often seems to be an inconsistency in what we get fired up about. We cannot get fired up about abortion but not the fact that there are THOUSANDS of children in our own country who are not being removed from unsafe situations simply because there are not enough good foster homes in which to place them.

Especially if we call ourselves followers of Christ, we must get angry when ANY life is not protected and given the chance to live life to the fullest. As Christians, we must be posting and talking and ACTING on our calling as the Church to mentor, to provide safe homes for children, to invest in teen moms, to partner with hurting families in our neighborhoods. And we must be honest about our failure much of the time to care about these realities as much as the reality of abortion, and pray seriously about how we can change this. I am so encouraged by so many who are leading the way in showing what it looks like to care about all life equally, from conception to grave, and my earnest prayer is that we as the Church would continue to move in this direction, following God's heart as we work for justice and show compassion for ALL life. I pray that we would not be manipulated by our media or culture as they so often try to politicize one issue over another, but that we would see the full picture of what it means to be pro-life -  to love children before they are born and after.

I would love any thoughts or reflections on this - but I'm not posting this to start a debate. I'm posting this because I felt compelled to share some of the things I've been reflecting on the past couple years, as I've grown increasingly convicted about the fact that we (very much including myself here) - especially those of us who claim to walk in the love of Christ - must think deeper about what it looks like to be pro-life in all areas.