Earlier this year, I met a man who worked for a pro-life ministry who, along with his wife, invited a young woman to stay in their guest bedroom while she got back on her feet. However, the girl was drawn to the party scene and found herself pregnant. She knew her hosts were church people and very much pro-life. Since she had grown up with a strict religious father, she assumed her sin meant she was no longer welcome in their home. “I’ll leave,” she mumbled abruptly one morning. But this man—thank God—saw her spiritual need and met it. He gave her grace. He spoke to her of Jesus’ love. 

That story reminds me of the reputation that many Christians have on the issue of abortion. For various reasons, many of our neighbors assume we are all truth and no grace, that we only care about life in the womb, that we have no place for people who have sinned and fallen short of biblical standards. This is why showing and speaking grace is so essential in our day and age.

“Where sin increased,” Paul wrote, “grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). When you see/hear the confessions of those who have disobeyed God’s desires for sex, marriage, and pregnancy, be quick to give them Jesus. You might assume they know about forgiveness and the cross, but many don’t. It’s our privilege to give grace.

While you’re at it, preach a bit to yourself. Let grace convince you to forgive yourself as God has first forgiven you.