A young boy asked his dad, “Where did I come from?” With beads of perspiration breaking out on his forehead the dad attempted to explain the process to him. Taking a deep breath when finished, the dad looked into the saucer-sized eyes of his child and asked, “Do you understand?” “No,” said the child, “Johnny said he came from Arkansas and I just wanted to know which state I came from. Can you tell me that?”
If you have children you can understand the plight of this father. And, you also understand where children come from. But, do we really understand where our children come from? Where do children come from? At first this question may seem a bit ridiculous. However, a close examination of some attitudes which underlie possible answers to the question will demonstrate its relevance.
Some people simply see children as the result of a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. The sperm and ovum unite, pregnancy begins and about nine months later a child is born. These facts are true but is that all there is to it? For some people that is all there is to it. They see no First Cause or Creator and do not recognize God as having anything to do with their miracle.
While there are those of this persuasion who take full responsibility for their sexual actions and embrace their child there is a deep flaw in this limited way of thinking. First, it rules out the privilege of consciously working with God to direct the life of the child. Second, some who believe that conception has no real spiritual meaning also tragically believe that the child can be aborted. Since they made it, they can dispose of it. This attitude, unfortunately, leads to approximately one million children’s lives being aborted each year. Since the supreme court ruled on Roe vs.Wade in 1973 approximately 55,000,000 abortions have taken place in our country.
