On this day of the Women’s March, I am reposting remarks I made several years ago at the first-ever Arkansas Rally for Reproductive Justice, which took place on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol on January 22, 2011.

I was humbled by the invitation to speak here today because there are so many of you here who dedicate yourselves to the struggle for reproductive justice on a daily basis, who put your careers and even your lives on the line to support women as they make some of the most difficult and important decisions they will face in their lives. I was invited to speak to you today not because I think I have anything to tell you about the struggle for reproductive justice that you don’t already know, but because I am a person of faith—a Christian and a member of the clergy—who believes in you and supports you and lends my voice to yours in the struggle for justice.

Too often in the public sphere the voice of God is claimed by a small but loud group of people, as though God were easily confined to our own belief systems. Well, I’m here today to tell you what I hope you already know—that there are people of deep faith on all parts of the political spectrum—and the voices of the Christian Right are not the only voices that matter. The God I believe in isn’t bound by the narrow political ideologies that so often limit our political discourse. The God I believe in is bigger than liberal or conservative, bigger than Black or white, bigger than male and female, bigger than Democrat and Republican. The God I believe in refuses to be bound by our preconceived notions, refuses to be boxed into a narrow ideology,  refuses to allow the voices of a few conservative preachers and talk show hosts to be the sum and total of what God can say and be and do.

And so I stand here with you today as a person of faith, to speak with you from my own tradition and my own experience. First and foremost, in my tradition, we believe that God is a God of life. In my tradition, we believe that God is the Creator of all life and the Sustainer of all life and the Redeemer of all life. In my tradition, we believe that God became one of us, lived among us, was crucified and was resurrected so that we—you and I, all of us, every one—might have life and have life abundantly.

Now some in the religious sphere would have you believe that the people gathered at this rally here today are not on the side of life—that we are on the side of “choice” which in our public discourse has somehow, some way become the opposite of “life.” But I can promise you that the people gathered here today stand on the side of life. Many of us struggle every day on the side of life – in hospitals and clinics, in schools and in places of worship. We stand on the side of life—of full and abundant life in which every child is a wanted child; of full and abundant life in which every child gets to be part of a family where there is plenty of love, and plenty of food and plenty of education to go around. The people gathered here stand on the side of a full and abundant life in which every child is a healthy child and every pregnancy is a wanted pregnancy. The people gathered here today stand on the side of a full and abundant life in which no woman is subjected to domestic violence or sexual assault, in which no little girl has to experience abuse at the hands of a neighbor or relative or stranger. The people gathered here stand for a full and abundant life in which all people—male and female, gay and straight, of every race, religion, color and creed—in which all people are treated as equals, in which all people have access to healthcare, in which all people have access to education, in which all people are taught about their own bodies and given the knowledge to make informed reproductive decisions for themselves. The people gathered here today believe in life, we stand on the side of life—and don’t let anybody tell you different.

But the reality is that we don’t yet live in a world in which the kind of full and abundant life for which we strive is always possible. We don’t yet live in a world in which poverty has been eradicated. We don’t yet live in a world in which there is no violence against women. We don’t yet live in a world in which every child is a wanted child and every family is a loving family. We don’t yet live in a world in which people are taught how to make responsible reproductive choices for themselves, in which young people have access to contraception so they can take responsibility for their own reproductive decisions. We struggle daily to make the world more just, more loving, more peaceful. But the journey is long and there are miles yet to go.

In the meantime, we who stand on the side of full and abundant life realize that in this imperfect world there are difficult decisions that must be made. The answers are often difficult and never obvious: What does it mean to stand for life when a pregnancy threatens the life of a mother? What does it mean to stand for life when a child is going to be born into family without the resources to care for it? What does it mean to stand for life when a pregnancy results from rape or incest? What does it mean to stand for life when a young girl who never had access to sex education or contraception finds herself accidentally pregnant?

I will be the first to confess that I don’t know the answers to these questions. People of faith and people of good conscience struggle mightily with these sorts of questions every day and come to radically different conclusions. This is why it is so important for us to stand for choice. I haven’t walked in your shoes, I haven’t lived your life, I don’t even know what it’s like to live in a body that is capable of carrying a child. There is no way I can make these kinds of decisions for the people who are facing them. But what I can do—and what I pray every day for the grace to do—is to support people who have difficult choices to make. Together, we can and do support people who are facing difficult decisions—through education, health care, counseling—through friendships, mentoring relationships, and professional relationships. We support the people who face difficult decisions and we stand up for their right to decide for themselves.

Now, ridiculous as it may seem, there are those in the world who would have you believe that women aren’t capable of making informed, ethical decisions for themselves. And, sad to say, many who say such things claim the same Christian faith that I do. Well, I for one am sick and tired of listening to those who say that God is not on the side of women or that only men can make important decisions. I reject that interpretation of my faith, and so should we all. The truth is that, even according to Christian scripture, God has always trusted women.

We remember the names of Sarah and Rebekah, Rachel and Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah—the mothers of Israel through whom God created a great nation. God has always trusted women.

We remember the names of Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives who rescued Israel from the destruction of Pharaoh. God has always trusted women.

We remember Deborah, the prophetess who led the Israelite army, and Jael, a housewife, who won freedom from oppression for the Israelites. God has always trusted women.

We remember Naomi and Ruth—an immigrant no less, making her way in an unwelcoming foreign country—who went on to become the great-grandmother of King David. God has always trusted women.

We remember Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, whose husband was struck mute for doubting the word of God while she was given the blessing of the angels. God has always trusted women.

And we remember Mary—a poor, dark-skinned, unwed, teenage mother—who, God knows, needed the love and nurture and support of a community like you—who gave birth to Jesus, the Christ, whom Christians believe to be savior of the world. God has always trusted women.

We remember named and unnamed women throughout history who have stood on the side of justice, who have fought against oppression, who have nurtured generations upon generations upon generations of the world’s children.

God has always trusted women to carry out great purposes in the world, and you can’t tell me any different. God trusts women. God has always trusted women. God trusts women even now. So why don’t we?

Let us, then, continue standing up for women. Let us carry on tirelessly in the struggle for justice. Let us strive to be ever worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Let us remain ever on the side of life and life abundant, working for the day when every child is a wanted child, every child is a well-fed child, every child is a healthy child, and no child fears for her safety. Let us carry on.

God bless you. God bless you for the work that you do. And God give you strength to carry on in the struggle for justice.