There is a lot of emotional attachment to the issue of abortion. People who have had abortions often feel guilty and think they deserve to be punished with the loss of another child. While we can certainly understand the feeling of guilt, we must also understand that God loves us a great deal and is very forgiving and kind. God is merciful because of Jesus who died for our sins on the cross. He is not waiting around to punish people. He desires to forgive.
There is no direct biblical correlation between having an abortion and God taking another child as it relates to Christians today. However, some people bring up the issue of King David who suffered the loss of a child because of his great sin with Bathsheba. While it is true that there was a consequence of his sin, it does not mean that God will automatically take another child later or cause a child to be deformed due to previous abortion. In the case of David, he was king; and he had a great responsibility. God judged him more harshly because of his great responsibility and his great sin.
If God were to judge us according to our sinfulness, we would all be dead right now. But the fact is that God is great in his patience and infinite in his love. For all who turn to Him and seek forgiveness will find his loving grace in the person of Jesus. As the Bible says,
- “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake and I will not remember your sins,” (Isaiah 43:25).
- “For I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more,” (Hebrews 8:12).
Though there are consequences for our sins, they can be forgiven through Jesus. And when they are forgiven, God doesn’t remember them anymore . . . how then would he punish a person for that which has been forgiven?
