A Reason For the World
A few days ago, I read a book called "A Walk Across the Sun' by Corban Addison. Wow. At times it made me cry and at times it left me speechless. The book is about two teenage sisters in India who survive the awful tsunami that happened there the day after Christmas in 2004 only to be sold into human trafficking, more specifically, sex trafficking. The older girl ends up being rescued while still in India while the younger is eventually rescued in America, after multiple 'jobs' in India and France. Yes, both girls eventually get rescued but the sad reality is in the life outside of a fiction novel, rescuing is something that rarely happens to the millions of boys and girls who are trafficked daily in the United States and many other countries in the world.
I've spend countless moments of my adult years pondering the deep question forced upon me in my childhood years - what in the world possesses an adult to want to have sex with a child? It is unfathomable to me how someone can look at a child and see him or her as a sexual object or being. How does a person get to that place in their mind, let alone act out on those thoughts and desires? Some days, I am satisfied with the answer that we live in a fallen world where sin is sin, no matter how much I try to compare my sins to others. My thinking ugly thoughts in my head about the lady in front of me at Walmart nailed Jesus to that cross as much as my grandfather's disgusting actions against my body did. God does not rate sin on a 1 to 10 scale, He sees ALL sin as being exactly what they are - a decision that separates us from Him. A lot of days, I can find peace with that line of thinking. Other days, however, I want an answer more than just the falled world bit.
The statistics concerning human and sex trafficking involving children are abhorrent. According to http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf, 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. 1.2 million!! I can't even imagine! And yet, it is a very sad and very real reality for children in some of the poorest countries in our world. Unfortunately, I don't believe this is a problem we will see resolved this side of heaven. Yes, we could rid the world of pimps who exploit and sell chilren. Yes, we could do away with all the madams who stand by knowing children are being abused, and often preparing them for such acts. But the simple truth is, until grown men and women stop desiring to have sex with children, this tragic crime against the youngest members of our society will continue.
Matthew West sings a song called "The Reason for the World" and until I meet my Maker face to face, it will have to suffice in reminding me that all of the hurt and loss we suffer this side of heaven is to make us long for our eternal home with Him.
I've spend countless moments of my adult years pondering the deep question forced upon me in my childhood years - what in the world possesses an adult to want to have sex with a child? It is unfathomable to me how someone can look at a child and see him or her as a sexual object or being. How does a person get to that place in their mind, let alone act out on those thoughts and desires? Some days, I am satisfied with the answer that we live in a fallen world where sin is sin, no matter how much I try to compare my sins to others. My thinking ugly thoughts in my head about the lady in front of me at Walmart nailed Jesus to that cross as much as my grandfather's disgusting actions against my body did. God does not rate sin on a 1 to 10 scale, He sees ALL sin as being exactly what they are - a decision that separates us from Him. A lot of days, I can find peace with that line of thinking. Other days, however, I want an answer more than just the falled world bit.
The statistics concerning human and sex trafficking involving children are abhorrent. According to http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf, 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. 1.2 million!! I can't even imagine! And yet, it is a very sad and very real reality for children in some of the poorest countries in our world. Unfortunately, I don't believe this is a problem we will see resolved this side of heaven. Yes, we could rid the world of pimps who exploit and sell chilren. Yes, we could do away with all the madams who stand by knowing children are being abused, and often preparing them for such acts. But the simple truth is, until grown men and women stop desiring to have sex with children, this tragic crime against the youngest members of our society will continue.
Matthew West sings a song called "The Reason for the World" and until I meet my Maker face to face, it will have to suffice in reminding me that all of the hurt and loss we suffer this side of heaven is to make us long for our eternal home with Him.
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