What do you call a football coach who never punts? How about a military commander who won’t retreat? And a spiritual leader who ignores opportune timing? The answers, respectively: Defeated. Dead. Not-Jesus.
Jesus Christ surely sometimes ignored seemingly slim odds and boldly delivered despite severe adversity — the wind and waves come to mind, as do the feedings with limited loaves and just a couple/few fish. But He also sometimes retreated, bided time, methodically ordered His actions, and carefully picked His spots. Timing mattered (and matters) to Jesus. His disciples are to do likewise. (References at this email’s end.)
There’s a time to reap and a time to sow. If we attempt to do one or the other in the wrong season, the harvest won’t end well.
Timing matters.
When I first read HF 2256, I saw legislation that recognized unborn babies as actual babies. The bill also attempted to offer legal protection to the unborn, and if this were to be the law there would be near-zero abortions in Iowa. As such, it seemed like an easy no-brainer — I signed on our support.
Other authentic pro-lifers focused on the bill’s potential for strict criminal charges against women who abort babies — they stayed away.
Some others saw something with far too few supporters to ever actually pass. Plus, it could be a potential landmine for conservatives in an election year. Why set up friends for a fall? They also passed.
HF 2256 was all of the above. Each of the aforementioned groups focused on different aspects of the truth and thus emerged the brief mini-squabble between otherwise like-minded people.
Focus matters.
I’m unapologetically on board with pro-life logic — ditto for Steve Scheffler and the rest of the IFFC crew. An unborn baby is a baby and an innocent living PERSON beginning at fertilization. If she is NOT a person, then what is she? And if she is an innocent living person, then why does she NOT deserve adequate legal protection? A person owns the same right to life one day before birth as she does one day later.
I believe that.
We believe that.
IFFC pretty much exists for that and other similar truths.
So why did we rescind our support for HF 2256 and sign on in opposition? Given the undeniable and universally accepted fact that the bill had a near-zero chance of success, the decision was easy. We re-registered to save our pro-life allies from wasting even one more ounce of effort on this hopeless futility — the timing was wrong and the focus was too scattered. That nuanced position may not sit right with some — heck, we don’t even love it — but that was our best judgment in the moment. So help us, God.
Some don’t believe in tactical retreats. Some have thrown jabs at us on social media. We appreciate such energy, passion, and enthusiasm, so we joyfully offer our other cheek. We keep our eyes on the cross because Christians need to unite for LIFE — not backbite. The lives of tiny, innocent babies are being ripped apart, poisoned, and starved to death. As long as these guiltless souls hang in the balance, we’ll do the next right thing to the best of our ability.
IFFC’s position on LIFE?
No matter how small, fragile, weak, or vulnerable… every innocent human person is created equal and with a God-given inalienable right to life — that’s self-evident — we the people should govern accordingly.
Fair-minded folks can argue about HOW to best protect a person in various circumstances, and we can potentially experiment with different mechanisms for deterrence based on those various circumstances, but in the end, our goal must be to do what is reasonably necessary to protect the life of every innocent person who exists under our governance.
Please pray for us.
Please pray for everyone working to protect tiny innocent lives.
Please pray for babies. …