The Courage of Compassion

Sharing Christ's grace and mercy.
Melinda Delahoyde | posted 3/11/2010

Every nonprofit organization has one guiding principle that serves as its anchor. For Care Net and our network of nearly 1,200 pregnancy centers in North America, that anchor is the compassion of Jesus Christ.

In the lives of our 28,000 staff and volunteers nationwide, compassion and courage go hand in hand. Several years ago I was having lunch with some friends of Care Net who had driven by an abortion clinic and stopped to observe pro-life counselors speaking with women as they entered. One woman caught their attention as she stopped to talk several times with the counselors and hesitated before she went in. While she was in the clinic, counselors outside quietly prayed. She had the abortion. But when she came back through the doors, her pain and anguish overwhelmed her.

That is when one of the counselors she had talked with came up to her, wrapped her arms around her, and just let her cry. For many minutes she talked and prayed with this woman. This was courageous compassion at work. Yes, we mourn the life that was lost, but on that day, in a very dark hour, this woman experienced Christ's grace and mercy.

This incident happened at an abortion clinic, but encounters of grace and mercy take place thousands of times at our network of pregnancy centers every day. Women come pregnant, scared, and hopeless, and peer counselors listen and provide options and resources. Most of all, they care. Our centers provide services such as limited ultrasounds, post-abortion counseling, parenting classes, and abstinence resources. They are deeply connected to other resources in their communities. They do this work and ministry one life at a time, and through the past two decades God has built a grassroots movement, an "army of compassion" that, as Time magazine has noted, is "quietly changing the hearts and minds" of women.

Originally founded in 1975 as the Christian Action Council, Care Net and its staff have seen God's hand clearly directing us to champion the role of compassionate outreach to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Each week over 3,100 unborn lives are saved at our pregnancy centers, and women come to know the love and truth of Jesus Christ. Now we are being called to expand our borders—to reach more abortion-minded women, to engage the next generation of pro-life advocates, and to help build a culture of life in America. In the fall of 2009 Care Net launched a campaign called "Inspire Life." It is an effort to equip Christians to become involved for life in their communities, to engage young evangelicals through social media channels, and to help build a culture of life in the U.S.

There is an opportunity before us, and now is the time to seize it. A recent national poll showed that for the first time in history a majority of Americans (51 percent) identify themselves as pro-life. Since 1991, 1,500 abortion clinics have closed. As a recent episode of the television program Law and Order noted, "The country is changing." This message of hope and compassion is part of that change. As human beings we innately know that life is better than death. Our natural desire is to protect and nurture life. We know that the death of millions of tiny human beings is wrong. We want to inspire life in ourselves and those around us.

This message of compassion and hope, caring for the least of these in our communities, doing what Jesus would do, one life at a time, is helping change the hearts and minds of our country. Yes, we must change the laws and elect officials who will protect all of life. But if we do not truly change hearts and help others to connect with what they know is right, we will never stop abortion in America.

This is the kind of cultural transformation that Christians have brought through the ages, and it's what we do best. Each of us displays with our lives the mercy and grace of Christ. The courage of our convictions brings forth compassion. There is much you can do now, such as volunteering at your local pregnancy center and engaging your church community in helping women who visit pregnancy centers. Ultimately, my prayer is that wherever God calls you to get involved, you would lead with the courage of compassion.

Melinda Delahoyde is president of Care Net. She is the author of many books, including Fighting for Life, and has been strategically involved in numerous nonprofits focused on life and bioethics issues. She previously led educational outreach for Americans United for Life. She has a B.A. in philosophy from UC Irvine and an M.A. in philosophy of religion from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. To learn more, visit Care-Net.org or InspireLifeNow.org.

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