The birth of Jesus Christ deserves to be celebrated across the world. God planned it, prophets foretold it, angels announced it, and shepherds reported it. The world desperately needed a Savior.
But not all people celebrated. One of those people was King Herod, also known as Herod the Great. When Herod learned that a King had been born in Bethlehem, the alarm bells in his head went off. He sensed a potential threat to his throne. Determined to eliminate this Challenger, he launched an investigation into the situation and requested Jesus’ exact location from the magi who had traveled many miles to see this King (Read Matthew 2:1-18). Upon realizing that the magi had left Judah without reporting back to him, King Herod issued an evil degree. All males in Bethlehem under the age of two should be killed. He figured the age of the young King at that time had to be two years old or younger. Bible scholars estimate that the number of boys to have been killed to have been between 10-30. How tragic!
Unfortunately, history is replete with examples of children being killed, often in great numbers and sometimes even in view of their parents. The Bible records a few instances as well, even to include sacrificing children to fake gods.
Share this information with most Americans and you get almost identical responses—shock, horror, anger, and even a thirst for revenge. How could adult human beings have been so cruel, so savage, so heartless as to snuff out the lives of children? Unthinkable!
I agree completely. But Americans have no grounds for acting self-righteously. Since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, the National Right to Life Committee indicates there have been an estimated 61,628,584 abortions in America as of January 2021. By now that figure totals well over 62 million procedures that have destroyed the lives of unborn children.
What does God think about this? In Jeremiah 19:5 the prophet Jeremiah proclaims a stern rebuke from God to the people living in Judah and Jerusalem regarding child sacrifices. “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.”
Do you sense the gravity of these words? God not only charges the people with the heinous sin of child sacrifice, but declares that it never entered His mind that they could commit such evil.
Our God never changes—He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. He strictly forbids the killing of babies and children.
One of the most famous, yet saddest, Christmas songs I’ve heard is called “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” The song is sung from the point of view of a soldier stationed overseas during World War II, writing a letter to his family. He tells his family to make all the normal holiday preparations because he’ll be home at Christmas time. Sadly, the song ends on a melancholy note with the words “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.”
Bing Crosby recorded I’ll Be Home for Christmas in 1943 to honor soldiers who longed to be home at Christmas time. It became an instant hit on the song charts and since that time has become a Christmas standard.
Imagine, if you will, the huge number of pregnant women with due dates before Christmas 2022—well over 4 1/2 million. Think of the babies in their wombs, all known and loved by God, who are scheduled to be home for Christmas. But wait a minute. Which home are we talking about—their earthly home or their eternal home in heaven?
Accurate abortion figures are hard to get, but it’s fair to estimate that just under twenty percent of the pregnancies in 2022 will end in abortion. If their little voices could sing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, only the last line of the song would apply: “If only in my dreams.” They’ll never enjoy an earthly home life like you and me, nor will they have the many wonderful experiences which are part this life. Take a moment to relive a few of the highlights of your life—these babes will have none of them. And to be more accurate, many will experience excruciating deaths resulting from the abortion process. Too many times I can hear their blood-curdling screams as their precious little lives are extinguished. Thinking about this makes me cry.
Thankfully, their Heavenly Father will bring them home to be with Him in Heaven.
Please don’t think I’m trying to ruin your Christmas season. Not even close. I’m simply urging you to fully embrace the words of our Lord Jesus in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Don’t you think this verse applies to the most helpless of all humans as well? Don’t these little people deserve to live as much as you and I do?