Horton Hears A Who

As you may know, the Dr. Seuss book “Horton Hears A Who” has been adapted into a computer-animated movie coming to theatres this March. If you’ve never read the story, you can read it here, but the general plot of the story is as follows (quoted from The Internet Movie Database)…

One day, Horton the elephant hears a cry for help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can’t see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home, but this gives him nothing but torment from his neighbors, who refuse to believe that anything could survive on the speck. Still, Horton stands by the motto that, “After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.”

In recent years, Horton’s motto has become a popular phrase adopted by pro-life groups to support their message that even the unborn have a voice, if you would only listen. Even though we cannot see them or hear them, they are alive and need people who, like Horton, are willing to protect them, even when others refuse to believe in their right to life. In some circles, there have also been some prophetic words linked to the release of this movie and it’s significance for the fight against abortion.

Now to go back several months to July 7, 2007, there was an event titled “The Call” where thousands of people gathered to fast and pray. Just one of the many issues they touched on that day was about praying for the ending of abortion and Lou Engle gave a riveting talk on the parallels between “Horton Hears A Who” and our call to stand for life. This was followed by an introduction of two young women who God called to be prophetic messengers by writing another children’s book that would teach this upcoming generation about praying for the unborn. Their book is titled “Justice Loves Babies” and they went on to describe how the Lord led and equipped them to write this book about a little boy named Justice who was praying for the safe entry of his sister Destiny into this world.

This event occurred just a few days before my husband and I discovered that we were pregnant, but it wasn’t until almost two months later that I was reminded of this story and I had the thought that Justice could be a good name for our coming baby. I mentioned it to my husband, who wasn’t convinced at first, but over the next few days, we both couldn’t shake the idea and separately, we were both being prompted by the Lord that this was the name we were supposed to give to our child, whether it was a girl or a boy. So, ever since then, we have been praying for our baby Justice and the destiny that God has given this little life, believing that he or she will be one who will be a prophetic messenger of their generation, standing up for those who cannot fight for themselves and speaking up for those who do not have a voice of their own. We believe there is much significance to this name of Justice, as there are many profound scriptures on this topic in the Bible, yet it will remain to be seen exactly how God unfolds this theme in the life of our child. However, here are 3 keys verses that God has highlighted to me…

“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:5

“In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.” Isaiah 42:4

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” Luke 18:7-8

As you can see, Jesus loves justice and is very committed to establishing justice on the earth, yet he has ordained it to be connected to the unceasing prayers of the saints. This is just one of the many reasons why my husband and I have chosen to give our lives to worship and intercession at the house of prayer in our city that one day hopes to go 24/7.

But to go back to how I started this blog entry, with “Horton Hears A Who” – it was only this week that I found out the release date of this movie would be on March 14th, the same day our baby Justice is due to arrive! Some may find this a coincidence, but I believe it is only confirmation of our baby’s name and destiny, as well as an encouragement that the Lord will bring forth justice and defend the cause of the oppressed, including the unborn who are at risk of being killed before ever having a chance at life.

I believe that there are people whom God is calling to be prophetic messengers, both those who are already alive on this earth and those who are living in the womb. I desire to be used of God in this way and I hope our child will answer this call as well. Yet, I also have the conviction that these messengers will find themselves in much the same predicament as Horton, who was mocked, ridiculed, persecuted, and even imprisoned for his beliefs and his message. Answering this call will not come without a cost. Choosing to give yourself to a life of prayer and proclamation of God’s Word is not an easy one – there are risks, obstacles, and opposition in both the spiritual and natural realms. Yet I believe that the reward in the age to come will be more than worth the price we may pay now! As Paul put it…

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:8-11