This morning we got to meet with 2 pastors that are committed to helping the women caught in sex trafficking in Rwanda. Pastor John Damascene, who we had met a year ago to do training on how to minister to trafficking victims, told us about all the great work he had been doing since then. He took the training and ran with it, reaching out to the hurting women that were unloved by the community. He told us about his church and how he had over 40 women who had been saved from a life of prostitution coming to his church. He also told us that because of his willingness to seek the lost and the vulnerable, so many other people had left the congregation because they didn’t want to be a part of it. This is heartbreaking! “Christians” who refuse to accept people because they think they are sinners!
How is it that we as humans tend to think that other people are less deserving of forgiveness? Why do we think we can decide who should be a part of God’s family?
I like to think that I am a good Christian and accept everybody but if we are all honest with ourselves I’m pretty sure we can look back (to like yesterday or even a few hours ago) and find a time when we weren’t accepting of someone. Whether it be because they look different than us, or act different, or make choices we don’t approve of. Either way, we all seem to do it. So after being angry at the fact that people were judging these women and condemning them, God humbled me when I had an opportunity to choose not to do the same. We went to the market on our down time later in the day and we ran into a woman that was part of the Gukura program. Our program had helped this woman on 2 separate occasions when she was very ill and needed care. She was supposed to be getting better and making a better life for herself but instead we found her drunk and stumbling around the market. I had stuck up for her when no one wanted to help her, saying that she should have a chance to change. Now here I was disappointed, and hurt, and sad, and most of all I felt kind of stupid. Here was my opportunity not to judge, not to look at her and decide she is bad, not to give up on her.
I have to tell you, I struggled with this, with my emotions. It should have been easy to see she is sick and hurting. But in the moment it was hard to see that, all I saw was the poor choices. I just hugged her and told her we would continue praying for her and moved on. Looking back I feel I should have been more compassionate, but this is where God is telling me to grow. I need to learn that if someone hurts me I can’t just discount them and move on, I need to love them anyway and never to judge anyone. We never know someone else’s story so who are we to decide if they are deserving of anything. God loves everyone, even the prostitutes and the tax collectors! So we should too, even if it is hard.
How is it that we as humans tend to think that other people are less deserving of forgiveness? Why do we think we can decide who should be a part of God’s family?
I like to think that I am a good Christian and accept everybody but if we are all honest with ourselves I’m pretty sure we can look back (to like yesterday or even a few hours ago) and find a time when we weren’t accepting of someone. Whether it be because they look different than us, or act different, or make choices we don’t approve of. Either way, we all seem to do it. So after being angry at the fact that people were judging these women and condemning them, God humbled me when I had an opportunity to choose not to do the same. We went to the market on our down time later in the day and we ran into a woman that was part of the Gukura program. Our program had helped this woman on 2 separate occasions when she was very ill and needed care. She was supposed to be getting better and making a better life for herself but instead we found her drunk and stumbling around the market. I had stuck up for her when no one wanted to help her, saying that she should have a chance to change. Now here I was disappointed, and hurt, and sad, and most of all I felt kind of stupid. Here was my opportunity not to judge, not to look at her and decide she is bad, not to give up on her.
I have to tell you, I struggled with this, with my emotions. It should have been easy to see she is sick and hurting. But in the moment it was hard to see that, all I saw was the poor choices. I just hugged her and told her we would continue praying for her and moved on. Looking back I feel I should have been more compassionate, but this is where God is telling me to grow. I need to learn that if someone hurts me I can’t just discount them and move on, I need to love them anyway and never to judge anyone. We never know someone else’s story so who are we to decide if they are deserving of anything. God loves everyone, even the prostitutes and the tax collectors! So we should too, even if it is hard.
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