was struck by something Akhtar, the ministry leader of Everyday Difference,
said. He was talking about what he believes a church family, should look like
and asked whether, in seeking diversity, we would be prepared to make room for
the most troubled or difficult members of society, including – among others – prostitutes
and criminals.
The natural reaction of many people to this might be
perturbation and disgust but I somehow felt excited. I immediately said to
myself: ‘I want to bring prostitutes into the church’, and as a result of my
newfound mission, I started asking God to send some prostitutes my way. I was
preparing myself for the great shock of the moment when God would send one of these
women into my path. I imagined I might be walking home in New Malden and she
would bump into me with mascara running and a torn skirt in flight from her
captors.
But that is not how God answered my prayers.
Instead God put me in the path of a friend who unexpectedly suffered three
weeks of severe depression; he took me to another who is an overwhelmed single
mother of two in her mid-twenties, to another whose perfect family has fallen
into pieces and who as a result has assumed an entirely negative, anti-God
mentality, and to many other individuals, all of which, I saw, were cases of
immense brokenness that had led to poor decision-making or simply resignation
to the downward pull of the enemy.
This was thus another occasion where I was made to reconsider the way I
understand God’s heart and desires. When I read about Jesus caring for the prostitute, James’ call
to care for the orphans and the widows, Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross next to him, and many
other examples, I think in terms of society’s definition of criminals and
orphans and widows and prostitutes. I think that maybe I should sign up with an
anti-trafficking organization or go on missions to prisons. These are wonderful
things in themselves, but not if I am ignoring the people God actually sends me
to serve while I try to do these things I think I ought to do.
certain to be massively impacted by the risks and dangers inherent in this
lifestyle and it is right and good for Christians to take note, to pray and to
act. But what about the woman who has such low
self-esteem that her identity is rooted in the attention men give her, who only
feels worthy when a man compliments her, and who as a result falls all too often into
being abused and taken advantage of by men? What about the woman who has been
so hurt by her encounters with the wrong men that she turns to the comfort of
women? What about the lonely 60 year old whose husband has recently died and
who, in of her neediness and vulnerability, has turned to pornography?
child in care, is almost certain to be affected by the lack of family structure
and support that can leave him or her alone in the world, unguided, and without
love and care. Again, it is right and good for Christians to take note, to pray and to
act. But what about the child, conceived without planning and resented by their
parent or parents, who prioritises other relationships over quality time spent
with their child? What about the child who has been passed from nanny to nanny
because his or her parents were too busy with work, or who may even have been
abused by those helpers but is too ashamed to say? What about the child
struggling silently through their school years, burdened with depression,
underachievement or the victim of bullies?
criminal may be obvious, and it may be so horrific a sin as to fill us with
disgust or fear. But what about those brothers and sisters in church who are
under the bondage of hidden sins, who have no one to talk to because they are
too ashamed to admit their wrongs and reveal the hold the enemy still has on
them? What about the people we see every day, all of us sinners, though not
obviously so?
be put in the path of prostitutes, I believe the Lord was showing me that I
should instead be praying simply to meet and serve the broken, because whether
prostitute, criminal, orphan, widow, single mother, depressed, lonely,
overworked, ignored, unappreciated or under-motivated, there are people all
around us in need of the revelation of Christ’s love, the healing power of the
Holy Spirit, the truth of the kingdom and God’s eternal plan. It is God’s grace
that he chooses to use our time, dedication and service to move them closer to
these wonderful blessings.
are you praying for God to use you but ignoring the very people he is sending
your way?