This year Lutherans For Life turned 40 years old!
But lately we’ve been feeling young …
“With God’s Word as our source of strength and our foundation, my generation will be the generation to end abortion.”
This brave and gracious declaration was made by Elizabeth Plassard of Lafayette, Indiana. She’s just entering her junior year of high school. She wrote the winning submission for our 2019 LFL National Essay Contest in the high-school division. Elizabeth goes on, “We need to show my generation that abortion is not the only option they have.” She serves as spokesperson for our future, and she’s learned how to be a Gospel-motivated voice For Life!
And she is definitely not the only one.
“We as Christians need to share the love of Christ and encourage those who struggle with a decision as difficult as abortion.” So says eighth-grader Matthew Abernathy from Avon, Indiana. His essay won the junior-high division of our competition. “God has specially made us, and that we are His life from conception to death … letting Him guide us through even times of struggle, lets us make the right decisions.”
Congratulations—not only to Elizabeth and Matthew but also to you. Thank you and praise the Lord! Because of you, we have succeeded in equipping a nationwide generation to proclaim the sanctity of life and put it into practice. They will act as spokespeople, citizens, servants, and leaders of our future. But please don’t let them speak alone. Will you show them we stand behind them and walk beside them? Your special financial gift ensures that we can!
“I am For Life because every life is worth living.”
We had a presence at several Lutheran youth gatherings this summer. Our displays met with nearly nonstop activity. In every location, our supplies of print resources quickly ran out. The students and their chaperones engaged our professional staff in constant and vibrant conversation. Visitors looked us in the eye and shared about their preemie, their miscarriage, their adoption, their grandchildren—and even their sexual assaults and abortions—and said, “Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your witness. Thank you for your work.”
Conference organizers invited us to present about human development and speaking truth in love. So many attendees signed up that they had to add sessions, and several still had to turn people away! Participants went out of their way to offer us their appreciation. When we asked them to express why they are For Life, they didn’t hold back:
“I am For Life because they have hearts just like us.” “I am For Life because you are not alone, you are loved by God!” “I am For Life because God knit you together!” “I am For Life because we were called to care for those who can’t care for themselves.” “I am For Life because the world would be worse if you weren’t here.” “I am For Life because God can use anyone—in all sorts of ways!”
They’re going to carry on the revolution you’ve begun. The younger ones have come this far, through God’s guidance, because of you. They’ve come this far because of Lutherans For Life. But they’re going to need our support and encouragement in order to finish the mission. Our children, your children, your grandkids—they’re ready to prevent abortion, reject assisted suicide, dispense with embryo experimentation, relieve guilt, and heal grief.
Will you please send an offering right now to make it possible?
Elizabeth Plassard pleads: “I have watched as many of my closest friends support the murdering of innocent unborn babies. I have seen teachers forget science and logic when arguing why abortion is ‘ok.’ I have even had teachers not allow me to write or speak about abortion because it is ‘too controversial.’ So how is my generation supposed to beat abortion when we are constantly being told by our authorities, the media, and all the so-called ‘influential’ people in our lives that abortion does not need to be beaten?”
We have more day schools to visit. We have many more homeschool families to reach, many more high-school populations to motivate, many more university communities to activate, many more seminary campuses to educate. Government-funded instruction is indoctrinating our teenagers to use death as a solution for suffering. Journalists and celebrities are pressuring these impressionable minds to believe human bodies are for self-gratification. Websites and entertainment are inundating them to assume that only productivity and control can attain value.
So many adolescents—our little ones—are facing broken relationships. So many are struggling with confused identities. So many feel the competition, conflict, anxiety, and anger that have overtaken our society. Addictions and suicides have skyrocketed. The culture tells them the answer they desperately seek requires exterminating the least of these.
This is our chance! This is your chance to save lives! The generations are listening. Their souls yearn to be touched with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You know the uniqueness of our message. You understand how vital and vibrant our distinctive voice is. Our encouragement comes from God creating, redeeming, and calling every human life to be His own precious treasure forever. Our concern is for hearts and eternities, not just laws and morals. Our approach brings joy, hope, courage, and compassion.
Did you know Lutherans For Life offers memorials? Monthly sponsorships? Planned giving? Paperless donations? And you can be a Gospel-motivated voice For Life by shopping at Amazon.com or buying a house! Click here to find out!