To the man sitting next to my friend on the bus in Swaziland who said He loves Jesus:
You are a child of God. You are created in His image and you are loved, but why?
Why did you use the eyes that God gave you to see His kingdom to lust after my friend?
Why did you use the hands that He created for you to do His works to rub her leg when she said to stop?
Why did you use the brain that He created for you to understand some of His knowledge and wisdom to think that her ‘no’ means your ‘yes’?
Why did you use the tongue that God gave you to speak of His name to ask her to marry you more than once when she told you that’s inappropriate? What about when you asked her where she lived more than once when she said no?
Why did you use the authority that God gave you to make your sister in Christ feel like an object?
To the man on the bus, I prayed for you.
I prayed that you would stop harassing women. But more importantly I prayed that you would use the tools God gave you as a way to build up the kingdom and not to tear it down.
I pray that you stop hurting women because you yourself are hurting.
To the man on the bus, you hurt my friend. You made her feel like an object and you made her feel scared, but you did not win because Jesus swept my friend off her feet and told her how beautiful she was and how worthy she is to be known by Him.
To the man on the bus, I hope you hold onto those words that she told you, “Jesus loves you”.
To not just the man on the bus, but all men, this needs to stop. Not once did we get grabbed and cat called today, but 3 times. 3 times on the way to church me and my 2 friends were harassed and grabbed.
God gave you your eyes, your hands, your tongue, your brain, your ears. He gave you these things to know, speak, listen, and do the works of the Lord.
To the man on the bus, I want to apologize for looking at you with hate filled tears in my eyes. Because as much frustration as I have for you, you are still a child of God. You are both loved and broken and I am both frustrated and hurt, but I will pray for you because you are my brother and somewhere along the way you got lost.
I hope you are found again. And I hope this story brings awareness to the things that happen every day, everywhere in the world. Even the man who does the hurting to others needs your prayers because deep down he is hurting just as much. This is not a cry for help, but to begin to pray for the people that need it the most. Don’t stop praying for each other. Don’t stop loving each other. And don’t stop looking after your brothers and sisters. Speak up.
