Being a Light at Planned Parenthood

     In Matthew 5:16, Jesus commands us to “Let your light shine before men…”.   In other words, Jesus is instructing us to reflect Him from our lives as we live for Him so that men “…may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” We have the opportunity to apply this verse at Planned Parenthood (PP). Jesus makes it clear our light should not be placed under a basket because that would be hidden and does not do any good to anyone who needs the light. Instead, Jesus said our light should be like a city set on a hill because it cannot be hidden. When we stand out in front of PP shining our lights; we are like that city on the hill. The people traveling along Cobb Parkway see our light. The people going in the immediate care or the marijuana dispensary see our light. And the people going in and out of PP see our light. We are not hidden in any way.  We are on that “hill” and the whole world can see us.

      As many of you have seen, our light creates a variety of responses. That is the nature of light as described in the Scriptures; therefore, there is no reason to be surprised. It is just a confirmation that our light is having its intended result. Our light is a reflection of the true light--Jesus Christ. As John states in chapter one of his gospel, “The Light [Jesus] shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (vs. 5). In fact, they went beyond not comprehending The Light and crucified Jesus on the cross. If the true light could not be understood by those in the darkness, then we should not be surprised when the unbelieving world cannot comprehend our light.

     One of the responses we see as we shine our light is people being attracted to the light. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 quoted above. We see this attraction to the light in two ways. Firstly, people who have visited PP and come over to talk with us or they stop their car and converse as they are leaving. Through these conversations, we have seen babies saved and women directed away from PP and toward life-affirming services. One thing that God has convinced me of is that each of these conversations are appointed by Him. I cannot imagine they are stopping because of our messaging or our attractive personalities (speaking of myself here.)  It has to be God using us to stir them to stop. How many of these conversations would take place if we weren’t there? We are God’s instruments and He uses us.

      Secondly, we also attract people who affirm our presence by honking their horns as they pass by or some who stop and encourage us.  Some of them even pray with us! God uses us to remind them of the importance of the unborn. We also recognize that our light is affecting people who do not stop, but are impacted by our presence and our signs. We will get to hear the stories of those who do not stop in heaven.

     Another response we see to our light are ones who ignore us. One reason for ignoring us is because they do not want the light to expose their deeds. In John 12: 35, Jesus said, “…he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.” They want to walk blindly so that they do not have to examine the morality of their actions. Abortion is a horrible act against God’s creation and most women know this as seen by the regret they experience when the abortion takes place. Even though they know this, they do not want to be reminded. They want to relieve themselves of the inconvenience of having a baby, therefore, they do not want their deed exposed by the light.

     Finally, we see individuals respond to our light in an uncivil manner. I’m sure we all have experienced the hand gestures given by some who are driving down the highway. Fortunately, my hearing is not that good with all of the traffic noise and I am not able to understand some of their vocal responses. Many of us have experienced individuals who have stopped to “engage” us and their rant includes, “Get a life!” I certainly cannot account for their vitriol, but I sense there are some deep hurts and sins in their lives and our light is triggering their response. Perhaps Jesus gives us the best insight in John 3:20, when He says, “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

     We should not be offended or hurt by the negative responses we receive when we are praying and being light in front of PP. Remember, as followers of Christ we were once in the darkness, but God has called us to “…proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” (1 Pet. 2:9). We have something to offer the women who are going to PP. We offer hope, help, and love for them and their unborn baby. We can only offer this when we are present as lights for Jesus Christ.

-David Staggers                                                                             -November 20, 2023