Opening the Casket on Hidden Evils
Day 19
Most Americans were not talking about racial injustice in July of 1955. A month later, they couldn't stop talking about it. Why? Because they had seen it.
In August of 1955 , Emmet, a 14-year-old African American youth from Chicago, visited his cousin in the town of Money, Mississippi. While there, he bragged to his cousin and others about his white girl friend back in Chicago. They weren't buying. After all, African Americans in Mississippi during the 50's didn't make eye contact with whites, let alone date them! Both actions were considered completely out of bounds.
On August 24, Emmet, his cousin and a small group of black males entered Bryant's Grocery where egged-on by others, Emmet briefly flirted with a 21 year-old white, married clerk behind the counter. After purchasing gum, he either whistled or said something mildly flirtatious. (reports vary). The cousin and others witnessing the event warned Emmet that there would be trouble. Two nights later, Emmet was taken at gun-point from his uncle's home by the clerk's husband and another man. They savagely beat him for house before ending his life with a single bullet to the head.
Later that week, Emmet's body was found in the Tallahatchie River. He had been beaten almost beyond recognition. The local Sheriff placed Emmet's body in a wooden box and shipped it back to his mother in Chicago. When Mamie Till got the body, she made a stunning announcement: There would be a public, open-casket funeral for her son. People protested and reminded her how much this would upset everyone. Mamie agreed but countered, " I want the whole world to see what they did to my boy."
The photo of Emmet's body in that open casket was published in Jet magazine. By all accounts, those photos helped launch the Civil Rights Movement in America. Three months later in Montgomery, when Rosa Parks famously refunded to go to the back of the bus, she said the bloody image of Emmet Till gave her the courage to stand her ground. In short, the picture did what no words ever could, it moved a nation to action.
It's time for Christians to pen the casket on abortion. The biblical mandates for doing so are Ephesians 5:11 and Proverbs 24:11-12/ "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" and "Hold back those being led to slaughter."
When evil is hidden, it flourishes. The world will tolerate abortion as long as it never has to see it.
In August of 1955 , Emmet, a 14-year-old African American youth from Chicago, visited his cousin in the town of Money, Mississippi. While there, he bragged to his cousin and others about his white girl friend back in Chicago. They weren't buying. After all, African Americans in Mississippi during the 50's didn't make eye contact with whites, let alone date them! Both actions were considered completely out of bounds.
On August 24, Emmet, his cousin and a small group of black males entered Bryant's Grocery where egged-on by others, Emmet briefly flirted with a 21 year-old white, married clerk behind the counter. After purchasing gum, he either whistled or said something mildly flirtatious. (reports vary). The cousin and others witnessing the event warned Emmet that there would be trouble. Two nights later, Emmet was taken at gun-point from his uncle's home by the clerk's husband and another man. They savagely beat him for house before ending his life with a single bullet to the head.
Later that week, Emmet's body was found in the Tallahatchie River. He had been beaten almost beyond recognition. The local Sheriff placed Emmet's body in a wooden box and shipped it back to his mother in Chicago. When Mamie Till got the body, she made a stunning announcement: There would be a public, open-casket funeral for her son. People protested and reminded her how much this would upset everyone. Mamie agreed but countered, " I want the whole world to see what they did to my boy."
The photo of Emmet's body in that open casket was published in Jet magazine. By all accounts, those photos helped launch the Civil Rights Movement in America. Three months later in Montgomery, when Rosa Parks famously refunded to go to the back of the bus, she said the bloody image of Emmet Till gave her the courage to stand her ground. In short, the picture did what no words ever could, it moved a nation to action.
It's time for Christians to pen the casket on abortion. The biblical mandates for doing so are Ephesians 5:11 and Proverbs 24:11-12/ "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" and "Hold back those being led to slaughter."
When evil is hidden, it flourishes. The world will tolerate abortion as long as it never has to see it.
What to Pray for Today:
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1. Pray that this Evil is Exposed
History teachers don't show pictures of the Holocaust or the Vietnam War to traumatize students. They show them because the pictures are true. The images that reveal the truth of abortion are disturbing. They should never be used to beat people up emotionally. But they can convey truths where words fail. |
2. Pray for Clarity and Consistency
Every day, pro-life apologists are making the positive case for life, while seeking to reveal what abortion really is. Pray for them, as they seek to persuade university and high school students, parents, and leaders who may not know what is at stake. Pray that they will unflinchingly speak and show truth in love. |
3. Pray that those who Need God's Forgiveness will Find it.
Some who learn the truth of abortion will also be faced with their own decisions to end the life of an unborn child. Pray that those who do will also experience the forgiveness that is only found through death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
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Foundation for Life
5726 Southwyck Blvd, Ste. 120 Toledo, Ohio 43614 phone: (419)535-5800 |
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