Have you ever had a moment where you see the world through God’s eyes?
I just watched a documentary on human trafficking called “Nefarious.” This film takes you through many facets of the horrible truth about this growing issue. It brought me through a whirlwind of emotions.
I learned that 1 out of 3 women and 1 out of 4 men in the US have been victims of sexual abuse.
And that approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders worldwide.
And that 80-90% of families in Cambodia are selling their children into prostitution.
It’s the kind of thing that breaks your heart and makes you cry. It’s the kind of thing that gets you furious with anger toward the people who exploit other people every day. It’s the kind of thing that makes you wonder, “How could I have not known more about this before now?”
It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to stand up immediately and DO SOMETHING.
As my heart was confronted anew with the reality of the tremendous worldwide problem of trafficking, God took my mind a step further.
My brain took in for a moment the even greater scope of the worldwide problem of sin. Just within the realm of human trafficking, millions of people are abusing and being abused every day.
Between the sinful choices stemmed from mankind’s universal, evil desires and the resulting victims of the consequences of those sins, we have fallen so unbelievably far from Eden.
Tears filled my eyes as I thought of the heart of our God, deeply saddened every time someone chooses to turn their back on Him, and deeply saddened knowing how many of His children don’t know how loved they are by Him.
When I think how full of sin our world is, how disgusting and evil and horrible a world without Jesus is, I wonder why on earth our King hasn’t returned yet.
“Lord, why do you do it? Why do you keep letting us perpetuate a sinful world, created perfectly but long since mutated by the very people you created?”
There is no other explanation but this:
God loves us.
He loves you and He loves me.
He loves the liars and the cheaters.
He loves the murderers and the gangsters.
He loves the prostitutes and the pimps and the human traffickers.
He loves the people buying what they’re selling, too.
I couldn’t tell you why, and I don’t understand it, but God LOVES us!
He loves us enough to create each of us uniquely, and to make plans to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11). He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross to give us all a chance to be saved (John 3:16). He loves us so much that He is waiting way longer than He has to before returning, because He wants to give every single one of us a chance to know Him (2 Peter 3:9).
For a moment today, I saw the world through God’s eyes. I saw His intense, unending, and completely undeserved love for us. And I don’t think it was an accident. I think it was another of the endless reminders God lovingly gives believers to “Wake up!”
There’s a whole world out there in need of Jesus.
Some have never heard of Him, and need to be told about Him.
Some have been deceived, and need to be reassured of His love.
Some have purposely turned away from Him, and need to be guided back to Him.
The rest of your life from this moment on is one big opportunity to make a difference in the Kingdom of God.
For me, it starts in Durban, South Africa, where I am living for a month in the same neighborhood as prostitutes and homeless people. For you, it might be in a middle class suburb in the good ol’ USA. It might even be in your own home.
So go. Spend some time in prayer. Listen to the Holy Spirit compelling you. Reach out to the people you meet on the street and at your workplace and in your house.
Be a light in a dark, dark world.
We don’t know how much time we have left, so let’s not waste another minute of it.
