Each year during the Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on planet earth. Jesus could have chosen any way imaginable to enter our world – from a golden chariot to a magnificent horse to a rocket ship to any form of transportation we can fathom. The Creator of the universe Who knows the hairs on your head, Who hung the stars in the sky, Who created mankind in His image, Who conquered death to give us the eternal keys to heaven, chose to enter this world through the womb of His mother. Mary carried prenatal Baby Jesus for 9 months, and during her pregnancy it was prenatal John the Baptist who was the first to recognize Jesus’ arrival on our earth as John leaped in his mother’s womb: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41).

I often wonder what advice Mary – as a pregnant, unmarried, poor Jewish teenage woman from the depressed town of Nazareth – would have received if abortion clinics had existed over 2,000 years ago. Would Mary have been told to terminate prenatal Jesus immediately to avoid suffering and scandal and because He would be an incredible burden and undoubtedly amount to nothing? Imagine how many mothers of the 2,600+ prenatal children aborted each day in our country are told these lies about the miracles they are carrying and God has created: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13).

As we approach Christmas, let us never forget that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only source of eternal peace, hope, and security, chose to arrive on this earth as a prenatal child in the womb of His mother Mary. This miraculous fact demonstrates more than ever to every human being that LIFE is a precious, sacred, priceless gift from the moment of conception. During this season of miracles, I pray we will deeply reflect on Jesus’ chosen path to enter our world and work daily in our churches, schools, workplaces, and communities to defend and protect our most vulnerable children and restore a culture of LIFE. Merry Christmas!