God may be punishing my wife for an abortion

Dear Pastor,

I am a 70-year-old man and a member of a church. I attend church regularly. I am married and have seven children. Recently, a young minister came to our church to preach, and it seemed as though someone had told him something about me.

During his sermon, he said that even if a person is in his senior years and has attended church all his life, he may still die and go to Hell. As I reflected on his sermon, I asked myself, “Who, then, can get to Heaven?”

I used to have a lot of women, but I stopped that long ago. I am an honest man in my business dealings and I am not a thief. What else do I need to do to get to Heaven? I abstain from certain foods and try to keep the Ten Commandments.

As I look back on my life, one thing continues to bother me: why I got married to the woman who is now my wife.

She was living with her parents, and her father was in charge of a property. He was very strict with his daughter. Even after she turned 18, he did not allow her to go out on her own.

But she loved me, and I loved her. She made a key so that I could get into the house. I started visiting her after midnight, and I used to have sex with her and then slip away. She became pregnant, but because she was still in school, I gave her money to have an abortion. That has always weighed heavily on my conscience.

I had other women, but my wife never had any more children. The child she was carrying for me was aborted. I have always wondered how I will face God, knowing that I encouraged this young woman to end her pregnancy. None of the children I fathered grew up with me.

My wife has blamed me for encouraging her to have the abortion. Do you believe that God will hold what we did against us, and me in particular for giving her the money to have the abortion?

I eventually married this woman. While we were married, I thought she would become pregnant, but she never did. All the other women I have been with became pregnant. My wife and I have a beautiful home, but only we live here.

Do you think my wife is being punished for having the abortion?

T.

Dear T.,

I do not know the answer to some of your questions, but I know for sure that God is merciful. Anyone who goes to Him in genuine repentance, He will forgive. However, I cannot say that your wife has been unable to become pregnant because she had an abortion. I cannot say that God has been punishing her because of what she did.

You also have not been able to father another child with her, and I would not be so presumptuous as to suggest that this is a punishment from God.

I am sorry that both of you did not consider adopting a child and giving yourselves the opportunity to nurture a young person, while experiencing the joys of parenthood.

If you have embraced Christ as your Saviour and Lord and are endeavouring to serve Him, you need not fret over whether you will experience eternal bliss in Heaven. Continue to seek God, repent sincerely of your past sins, and trust in His mercy and grace.

Pastor