The measure of a life is not its length but its impact.  Kortney Blythe Gordon made a timeless impact in her 28 years here on earth.  In fact, she did more in 28 years than most people even think about in 80.  Kortney was a fearless Christian and abortion abolitionist who saved souls and thousands of babies from abortion and their mothers from regret.  She and her unborn child, Sophy, died when their car was struck by another car on October 8.

The outpouring of support from the Christian and pro-life communities has been overwhelming.  God’s grace is evident in the lives of those who loved her.  That’s why, despite their grief, her father Larry (a close friend and member of the CrossExamined team), husband Ben, and Uncle Don sat down with me only four days after the tragedy to tell story after story of how Kortney impacted everyone with her unique ability to blend uncompromising truth with inviting grace.  (She was so good at what she did that she even became a mentor to her Uncle who originally got her into pro-life ministry!)  You can listen to their inspiring reflections about Kortney, and what she would want us to do now, on the October 15 CrossExamined radio program podcasted here.

Here is Kortney in 2009 speaking truth to power (Michelle Obama attended this event).

One question that we are all thinking: Why would God allow something like this to happen to someone sold out for Him? 

Here are few thoughts.

1.  We know that we live in a fallen world where evil exists and no one is guaranteed 80 healthy years (in fact, contrary to what you hear on most “Christian” TV, Christians are called to suffer like our Savior).

2.  We know that God rights all things in the end, and that this is made possible by His own perfect sacrifice on the cross.

3.  While we don’t know the specific reason why this event occurred, we know why we don’t know— we are are finite and God is infinite. We see a small part of the picture from our limited time-bound perspective, but God sees it all. God knows how this tragedy will be used to bring about good at some point in time and certainly in eternity.  In fact, how you and I respond to this tragedy may be some of the good He will accomplish.

To learn more about Kortney and her organization go to http://www.studentsforlife.org/.