For quite some time, I thought the name of the organization the Lord is asking me to start in Colorado would be called Clothed By Love. Since the focus would be reaching people working in strip clubs, I thought that, well, the opposite of being stripped is being clothed, and by the blood of the Lamb we are clothed by and in His love. This is all true. But one night a few weeks ago the Lord gave the organization a new name.
The sex industry is thriving with lies and labels. People who work in the industry often begin to believe the arrows the enemy throws at them: they’re wrecked with guilt, shame, embarrassment, low self-esteem, worthlessness, loss of value. They become objects. They’re humans exploited for pleasure. Even those who become the “customers” believe lies that the women want to be doing this, it’s harmless, etc. Often they too are consumed in their own chains. Society also tends to dehumanize those caught in this business and sees the men and women who work in any form of the sex industry as “less than” or “not equal,” whether it’s ever verbalized or not.
Through all of this, there still remains the truth that no lies or labels can ever steal. We belong to the Almighty. We are His and His alone, and though the enemy does all he can to convince us otherwise, he cannot take our birthright: we are children of the King. We have been bought with the blood of the Lamb, we have been declared as sons and daughters of the Most High, we have given seats at the table of the Redeemed. We have been claimed by Jesus. And Jesus is Love. So the organization is going to be called Love Made Claim, because Love claimed us from the beginning and nothing can change that; nothing can steal that. 🙂
