Live By The Sword…

Like so many unborn babies he killed in their mother’s wombs, Dr. George Tiller was himself killed in a place where he should not have feared for his life, the lobby of his church. In the place where poor miserable sinners should only hear the peace that passes all understanding, the Gospel of Jesus and His cross, they heard gunfire.

Tiller ran the Women's Health Care Services clinic, a very high-profile abortion clinic in Wichita, KS and was one of the few doctors in the country that still performed late-term abortions. Dr. Tiller never shied away from reporters asking for him to defend what he called a moral decision to provide a choice for women. He was very proud of his work and didn’t consider killing babies a violation of either his Hippocratic Oath or God’s Law.

What Dr. Tiller’s murderer did was wrong. A Christian is a citizen of two kingdoms and bound to laws of both. As a Christian we are called by God to obey the laws of our country. Murder is unlawful and needs to be both condemned and punished as the state is given the authority to do.

In addition, how we treat our enemies and folks we just plain don’t like is laid out in Romans 12:17-21;

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Moreover, what Tiller’s murderer did is dangerously harmful to those who profess to be Christian. In an age where harassment of Christians and the values they hold dear seem to be in vogue and when the Homeland Security Department can publically and unapologetically state that those who are prolife are potential domestic terrorists, this murder’s actions is likely to have farther reaching implications than just the death of one abortionist.

Tiller’s murder might have thought that his vigilantism an appropriate end for one who killed so many of those who could not defend themselves but it’s likely that that unlawful sword that he swung will be used a weapon itself against the faithful and those who would defend the unborn.