“Caring for all of life” is a subject that evokes strong emotions for Christ followers. That theme is applied to several areas of concern to Kentucky Baptists in this month’s magazine.

Chip Hutcheson
• Abortion. As people who are convinced that life begins at conception and that God values every human life, we are relentless in opposing abortion.
Many have rightly proclaimed that abortion is the moral crisis of our time. While the word abortion is not mentioned in scripture, the Bible does speak repeatedly about the beginning of life and the value of all persons.
A day is set aside every January called “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday” to call attention to the plight of the unborn. Also in January, our nation observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner said it well in a commencement address: “Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’; expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’; vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’; but conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’; and there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but because conscience tells one it is right.”
That is why Kentucky Baptists fight to protect life — because it is the right thing to do. We cannot be deterred by those who wrongly reason that an abortion can be justified. Arguments that abortion is justified in cases of rape, incest or to preserve the choice of the mother are simply “smoke and mirrors”— 93 percent of all American abortions are elective.
Statistics from the Guttmacher Institute tell us that 60 percent of women who choose abortion are in their 20s. A reason often given for an abortion is that an unplanned child is not convenient at that time in life, that it is a roadblock to their ambitions.
Some counter with the argument that science has evolved to the point that it can be determined significant “deficiencies” exist with the unborn child, so it should be permissible to abort.
Tell that to the mother of Kodi Lee, who won the TV show America’s Got Talent last year. The 22-year-old is blind and autistic, yet he has perfect pitch and an audio photographic memory, meaning he can recall and perform music after hearing it just once. There are many other stories such as Kodi’s, and all of them cause us to ponder what our world would be missing if they had been aborted.
• Adoption/foster care. Jesus made it clear in Matt. 19:14 that children are significant when He said, “Suffer the little children to come to me.” In James, we see that pure and undefiled religion is to care for widows and orphans in their affliction. So the mandate to care for children abounds in scripture, but I am convinced that many Christians fail to see the need in our world as it relates to orphans and children removed from their homes for their own safety.
That’s the work of the devil. Because of the enormity of the task, the devil wins. He wants us to think we cannot make a meaningful difference in the lives of children. But with 2,350 churches and about 750,000 members, Kentucky Baptists can make a difference. We must see the need — and hopefully this issue will reveal that need more clearly.
Ten years ago, our son and daughter-in-law adopted a grandson from Ethiopia. Three months later a granddaughter came into our family, also from Ethiopia. Our family, our lives, are blessed beyond measure because of them. Won’t you see the need and help by adopting or being foster parents?
• Human trafficking and euthanasia. We cannot turn a blind eye to these two areas as well. Two children are sold into slavery every minute, 1.2 million every year. There are around 27 million slaves in the world today, more than at any time in history — 79 percent are sold into sexual exploitation. Half of all slaves are children. The average price per slave: $90. Euthanasia involves an alertness to combat nonvoluntary denial of treatment food and fluids.
On a much lighter note, we always want to hear your opinions and suggestions regarding the Western Recorder. We’ve heard from many who have missed the crossword puzzle, so those readers will be pleased to see it has returned in this issue. Also becoming a regular fixture each month will be a favorite recipe from a KBC staffer.
Chip Hutcheson