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Why Graphic Signs?
Words have failed and we need to see the
horrible reality of
what we are doing to the weakest among
us in our nation. The
pictures we carry provide a pictorial essay and a real warning
of what horrors
befall a culture that turns its back on a Holy God.
Our children need to know that the choices they make and the
actions they take have lasting consequences.
Life and blessing are ours when we honor the Ten Commandments
found in God’s law. This is visibly
demonstrated by the picture of a live baby.
Contrast this with the graphic pictures of children ripped apart
by abortion, and you epitomize the cost of walking away from the
precepts and principles found in God’s law.
“This
day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against
you that I have set before you life and death,
blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that
you and your children may live…”
(Deuteronomy 30:19)
Do These Pictures Traumatize Children?
No! They traumatize adults attempting to deny
the truth and the horror of abortion!
That’s right! These pictures do not traumatize our kids, no
matter how young they are. Children are not traumatized if they
have parents who teach that abortion is a terrible thing to do
to a child.
Our children who have grown up in this ministry
know that this is a picture of a baby who is hurt. They
also know that their mom and dad are doing everything they can
to help these voiceless children.
It is the parents who tell their children that
abortion is a good thing, or a “mother’s choice,” that
have difficulty explaining the graphic pictures to their
children. They are terrorized and traumatized because they have
no words to justify what their children have seen. The kids are
left wondering if mom and dad would “choose” to do the same
thing to them.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart.
Rebuke
your
neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.”
(Leviticus 19:17)
Is This Terrorism?
No! The truth brings terror only to the one who
is
doing wrong. He fears being exposed. In order to
avoid the horrible truth that these pictures
uncover,
the enemy attempts to point his finger at
someone else
– us! When one loses an argument, he resorts
to
argument “ad hominem” (name calling).
Planned Parenthood and its ilk seek to paint all
Christians who are telling the truth and living
out their
faith in the public forum as “wild eyed,
fundamentalist, lunatic, terrorists.”
“Have I now become your enemy by telling you
the
truth?” (Galatians 4:23)
Is This Extreme?
No, graphic pictures are not extreme! This is
what
parents do when they feel their children are in
danger.
The horrible pictures of traffic accidents used
prolifically in driver’s education courses are
not
viewed as extreme. They teach what words cannot.
The pictures of Jews stacked like cords of wood
outside Nazi concentration camps are not
considered
extreme when depicting the murderous truth of
Nazism. It should never be considered extreme
when
one tries to rescue children from a treacherous
lie by
pictorially telling the truth. We will make no
attempt
to appear fair and open-minded to the lies and
“coverups”
of the abortion industry. We desire only to be
true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In so doing
we
believe that God Himself will give our kids eyes
to
see the real horror of abortion.
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds
of
darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians
5:11)
What Would Jesus Do?
Would Jesus carry graphic pictures? He already
has.
That’s right! When words fail, God speaks to
us in
living parables (pictures). Jesus was and is God’s
most graphic picture of His magnificent love
toward
us.
Jesus became a living parable of the high cost
and
degrading horror of our sin. It cost Him His
life. He
was publicly humiliated and hung naked on a
cross.
He was wounded and bruised. He bled and He died.
He was marred beyond even looking like a man.
Jesus was and is God’s graphic picture of His
love
toward us.
Jesus’ sacrificial and graphic death on a
cross helps us
to understand the magnitude of God’s love. It
was an
ugly death. It was and still is repugnant to our
senses.
It was and still is disturbing. It creates
within our
hearts a conflict that we would just as soon
ignore.
But, because He loves us, He drew a picture of
His
love with His Son’s death on an old rugged
cross.
He is afflicting us and conflicting us with this
graphic
truth, not because He hates us, but because He
loves
us! “But
God demonstrated His own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died
for us.” (Romans 5:8)
The Entire Sacrificial System Points to God’s
Graphic Ways!
Sacrifice in the Old Testament was an ugly
business.
It was acceptable only on the basis of very
graphic
procedures. God used the sacrificial system as a
graphic pedagogical device to teach His people
the
severity of sin. “Without
the shedding of blood
there is no remission of sins.”
Can you imagine laying your hand on the head of
a
precious lamb and slitting its throat with the
other?
Can you imagine watching the crimson blood flow
as
the animal dies in your hands? The flowing red
blood
was a graphic teacher of the severity of sin. It
prepared those in Old Testament times for the
coming
of the final sacrifice, the lamb of God, Jesus
Christ.
Now, just imagine bringing your eight year old
son
with you and explaining to him why a lamb must
die
for the forgiveness of that boy’s sins.
Imagine that
this was a family lamb that had been raised for
this
very purpose. The son was witness to a very
graphic
truth which prepared him to be a man. A young
man
who is raised to understand the severity of his
own sin
and the high price paid that he might be
forgiven, is
one who is ready to be a man.
Should We Carry Such Graphic Pictures?
Yes, we must. God is calling us to expose the
lies that
are covering up the slaughter of innocent human
beings. Place the picture of a live baby next to
the
picture of a baby ripped apart by abortion and
ask,
“Which one do you choose?”
You will find that kids, almost 100% of the
time, will
choose the picture of the live baby. Do the same
thing
with adults and you will find that those who are
“prochoice”
simply shut their mouths. They have nothing
to say. All of their logic breaks down when they
are
faced with the graphic truth.
In the prophet Jeremiah’s time, the people of
Israel
were also sacrificing their children in the
valley of
Ben Hinnom. God said that this was “...something
I
did not command, nor did it ever enter my mind.”
Jeremiah 7:31.
God Himself was astonished at the depravity of
His
children, sacrificing their own sons and
daughters to
false gods. Could this be America today?
The problem was that the people of God in
Jeremiah’s
time did not, “...plead
the case of the fatherless to
win it…” Jeremiah 5:28.
Today, we in the Church of Jesus Christ are not
pleading the case of the fatherless to win it.
Oh, we
build our crisis pregnancy centers, vote
Republican,
participate in Life Chain, and preach our annual
Roe
v. Wade sermon on January 22. We are not,
however, pleading the case of the over 45
million
children murdered and those soon to be killed,
so as to
win it.
As for me and my house, we have determined to
plead
the case of the fatherless to win it. Graphic
pictures
expose the devil’s schemes and make the
defense of
the “pro-choice” lie, indefensible.
Flip Benham
Director
OPERATION SAVE AMERICA
PO Box 740066
Dallas, TX 75374
972-240-9370
www.operationsaveamerica.org
OPERATION SAVE AMERICA
Would Jesus Carry Such
Graphic Pictures?
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