The Heart of a Man
I have looked into the eyes of a man who buys sex from women trapped in human trafficking.
As the reality of the situation pierced my heart, my eyes blurred with anger as something rose up within me. Thoughts starting racing through my mind, making me want to yell, scream, cry, and maybe flip a table (Jesus flipped one in righteous anger, right?).
The racing thoughts intensified, “What is he doing? Does he not know what he is participating in? Does he not realize that he is contributing to slavery? He is the reason for the problem. It is because of men like him that keep these illicit massage parlors in business. Does he not see that the woman he is paying money for is a beloved image bearer of the King? Does he not see that she is worth more than silver and gold, that Jesus has paid the highest price for her freedom through His blood?”
And as that thought crossed my mind, a still, small voice spoke, dismantling my racing thoughts in a moment. Jesus’ simple statement was, “Yes, it is true that the woman enslaved is worth more than silver and gold through my blood. But that man you are looking at is just as enslaved and just as valuable, as a beloved image bearer.”
“The man you are looking at is just as enslaved and just as valuable.”
The words echoed deep in my soul, and instead of wanting to yell, scream, cry, and flip a table, I was left simply with the desire to weep. To not just weep over the girls trapped in slavery, but the men trapped in the slavery of sin.
In that moment, no longer was I looking into the eyes of a man, but I was looking at the heart of a man desperately searching for love. No longer was I looking at him as the problem.
At Catalyst Ministries, “We are a community who believes that every person has value and every person is worth fighting for.”
I had missed the word EVERY.
The beautiful thing about our Wounded God is that He has paid the highest price for our freedom, for EVERY person’s freedom. This includes your freedom, my freedom, the woman in this city trapped in human trafficking, and the man who is trapped in lust and buying women.
As we pray for our cities and the nations, for justice and mercy to come forth and trafficking to end, may we remember to pray not only for the women and children trapped in trafficking, but also for the ones selling and buying women. For every person is worth fighting for. And no one is too far from the reach of Heaven’s open arms.
--Elise