5:17 church

This morning when I opened my igoogle page, this news headline caught my eye – “Girl, 12, prostituted to hundreds of men”. I couldn’t bear to read the ninemsn article in its entirety, it was so horrendous. And it’s not like it happened far away from our hallowed shores – for example amidst SE Asia’s sex trade – but in Tasmania, and recently.

The prosecutor at the trial is reported to have said, “She’s likely to have serious psychological distress if not problems as a result of this.” At least. Abuse of any kind leaves profoundly deep scars, and sexual abuse especially. I hope you’re appalled and grieved to hear of heinous crimes like this.

Of course the fact is, it happens a lot, everywhere, even right under our noses. Forgive me for not quoting anything specific, but stats recording sexual abuse of women and children in Australia are abysmally high (eg. here, but the details are a bit hazy).

And it (abuse including sex trafficking of children) also happens in unpoliced, broad daylight in many countries like Cambodia. We were glad to see this positive coverage on SBS news last night, of ‘American missionaries’ in Cambodia who work to rescue children from the sex industry. (Go the International Justice Mission!)

I don’t have much more to say other than I’m convicted that reformed evangelicals (including myself) are much too silent on issues of social injustice. Society hears from left-wing radicals (of all kinds) and Liberal Christians about these things, but too little from us. Shame on me, shame on us. Of all people, we have the most reason to be active and appropriately vocal about ‘pushing back evil’ in this world – because we believe in all facets of the Gospel -

• the realities of a world created good
• the entrance of sin, Satan and evil
• God’s judgement of these
• God’s offer of salvation, redemption, and transformation through Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross
• God’s command to us to make disciples of (and in) all nations by proclaiming and ‘enacting’ His gospel
• and God’s plan of re-creation for all He’s redeemed.

So what am I going to do about it? Well apart from using my voice here rather than staying silent, I am finally going to sign Steve and me up for this Facebook event – Rescuing Children from Prostitution – that we were invited to several weeks ago. We committed mentally but haven’t yet done anything about it actually. I’ve checked out the Destiny Rescue website and from what I’ve read, it seems to be a reputable Christian organisation doing valuable rescue work.

So – can you give $40 and wear a pendant for 26 days to promote the work of Destiny Rescue? Sign up too if so!

Or can you write letters to your local MP or to Kevin Rudd himself, encouraging our government to increase its efforts to abolish child / human trafficking worldwide?

Can I urge you to do something, because what is it that pleases our God? The practice of true religion – believing whole-heartedly in Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Saviour, and backing up that faith by our good works in His world.

“…and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

and your night will become like the noonday.”

Isaiah 58:10

• a21 Campaign
• International Justice Mission
• Destiny Rescue