I was recently asked the question: Why are you going on the Human Trafficking World Race?
My friends Needtobreathe sing a song called Signature of Divine. As I was spending time with Jesus on the beach today, we began talking about the implications of the truth that is embedded in this song. In doing this Jesus revealed to me the deep seeded reason in my heart of why I am truly going on the Human Trafficking World Race next year. Here is the conclusion.
“Cathedrals have tried in vain to show the image of your face,
but we are by your design a Signature of Divine.”
Nothing on this earth displays the glory, majesty, complexity, creativity, grace and beauty of God like humanity. Historic gothic cathedrals; breath-taking, steep mountain peeks; spacious, crystal coastlines; gigantic, sparkling galaxies all try in vain to show the image of our Creator’s face but God has planned and executed it so that we are his signature of Divine. Why then and how is it that there are men and women all around us who are a mere fraction of the person they were intended to be . . . . created to be? . . .
The answer: SIN. Satan has convinced us that our way is better than God’s way. He has lied to us about who we are and we have believed him. He tells us that we are ugly, unworthy, unloveable, shameful, annoying, too much or not enough, helpless, hopeless, forsaken, and we take him at his word. He has convinced us that God’s love is out of our reach, based on performance, dissatisfying, “uncool” and only for the fanatical or the weirdos. As a result we have become half-baked individuals, most of us merely surviving, not truly living. We think to ourselves, “Well if I am God’s signature of the Divine, then what does that tell me about him? That he’s obviously flawed and not good because I am not good.”
We have been deceived.
“He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.“- Jesus referencing Satan.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
“The fortunes of kings and queens have been wasted chasing what we’ve seen,
but we are by your reprieve, Beauty framed by your suffering.”
There is an aching in our hearts that tells us you were created for something more but we do not see ourselves as signatures of a Divine God. As a result, we try to “better ourselves” the ways we know how. Women seek plastic surgery, the latest diet fad, beautiful clothes or jewelry, new hair styles, or most often, relationships to sooth the ache in their hearts. Men rely on the stability of a job or the provision of a steady income to provide them with trophies of accomplishment.
So we waste our fortunes chasing after the things that we can see; the things we hope will satisfy and make us into someone we enjoy looking at in the mirror each morning . . . a signature of Divine. While in truth, not many of us love the reality of the sum of who it is staring back at us.
But the truth is: Nothing on this earth displays the glory, majesty, complexity, creativity, grace and beauty of God like humanity.
We are created in the image of the living God. We are created in Christ and through Christ and for Christ. We are “beauty framed by his suffering”. We are acquitted of all sin; our wrecked lives made beautiful by his suffering on the cross.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:3-4
“Take me and pour me through because I can’t move without you.
‘I won’t leave you alone,’ you say, ‘It will be okay'”
I have come to a place in my relationship with Jesus where I am constantly saying, “Take me and pour me through because I can’t move without you.” Jesus is my life. My life is hidden in his life, his death, his resurrection. He is the reason I get up in the morning. I LOVE HIM. I mean, I really LOVE HIM. I identify with David when he says,
“Oh God you are my God, earnestly I seek you. My soul longs for you, my body aches for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will praise you.”
And so, why the Trafficking World Race?
Because there are men, women and children out there who are a mere fraction of the person they were created to be because they have believed lies the enemy has told them. Men believing it is okay to satisfy their lustful desires by raping children. Women believing they are worth nothing more than what a man will pay for them. Children believing they are unloveable because their parents sold them or abandoned them. They need to hear that God has created them as a signature of his Divine nature and they have a BEAUTY that is all their own and that comes from Christ. They need to know. They deserve to know. They all deserve to hear God speak those words over their broken lives:
“I won’t leave you alone. . . . . it will be okay.”
and so, I go.
