What Compels Me

In the past weeks, I have been struck with the myriad of issues that are related to child abuse within the Christian community. However, in preparation for this article, I was faced with a very fundamental question: “What is it about this subject that drives me and the other members of GRACE to spend untold hours listening, teaching, counseling, consulting, investigating, encouraging, and praying about children who have been so hurt by the sin (and crime) of child abuse?” Ultimately, what compels each of us to spend our lives equipping the Christian community to confront this destructive sin is the love and adoration of our Heavenly Father. Let me try and explain what I mean...

Striking and Powerful Words

In Mark 9:37, Jesus says, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me." These are striking and powerful words from the Son of God. The plain reading of this passage simply means that our embrace of God is demonstrated and exhibited by how we love his little ones. Wow, think about that truth spoken from the lips of God himself. We love him through the loving of children. Or put another way, we reject God by and through the pushing away of his children.   

 The purpose for the life God has breathed into each one of us is to be His worshippers.

The tragic truth is that abuse pushes children away from God and this is one of Satan’s most successful secrets. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says,  "Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever." In other words, the purpose for the life God has breathed into each one of us is to be worshippers of him. Satan who wants to rob God of all worship hates this purpose. It doesn’t take long before we realize that Satan starts by destroying the most venerable of worshippers…those who are weakest…children! A not-so-old study found that two out of three people who embrace Christ do so before their 18th birthday. Thus, it should not come as a surprise that Satan is tirelessly working to destroy children in order to prevent them from spending a lifetime worshipping God.

There Is Hope in the Gospel

This tragic truth would be too overwhelming, but for the glorious fact that it is by the work and power of God that we press forward. John 1:4-5 says, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." God is telling us that distorted worship can be restored through his Son’s work on the cross, which has conquered darkness. What an incredible promise from our incredible God! We are merely God’s imperfect agents used by him to restore his worship by and through confronting, addressing, and responding to the sin of child abuse. Please pray that God will bring forth his people to be his agents of light in this very, very dark place.

GRACE is an organization that educates, trains, and equips the Christian community to confront and address abuse through 1) prevention 2) investigation and 3) proper responses.