“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal….Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.” (C.S. Lewis from the essay, "Weight of Glory.")
As a follower of Christ I am called to look upon every human as a holy being made by an all powerful creator. Every soul is a unique window into the heart of God. It pains me to think about all of the times I have neglected to see the work of art God has created and placed in front of me. People so quickly become the backdrop of my day instead of taking center sage. I wonder how many times I have missed out on learning something new about God because of it.
Often I have found myself on a favorite soap box talking about how we need to love the men who are involved in the sex trade. That may sound great but to be honest with you I have had ulterior motives. I realized recently that my motivation for wanting to reach the men was basically to help the women. (Which is not bad but it needs to go farther) Its almost as if I saw it as a formula: Change the men and we will save the women! I see now that it is not that easy and I have been looking at the men as solution to the problem instead of seeing them as holy beings in need of the same restoration that the women deserve. After attending a training a couple of days ago with MST (Men in the Sex Trade) my perspective was changed and I left with a new vision and a new understanding.
Just as I would not label a women as a prostitute because that is placing a stigma on her, I should not call the men in the sex trade “Johns” or “perverts.” Instead of merely looking at men for what they are on the surface I need to ask God to change my eyes. I want to see men for what they COULD be instead of dwelling on the sin that is so blatant to my eyes.
My aunt Brenda used to say, “Never throw out anyone.” That is a new conviction I have for the men that come to Phnom Penh to buy sex. Did Jesus not die on the cross for these men too? Are their sins a little bit too bad? A little bit too ugly? No! These men are worthy of love just like the rest of us. I wonder how often our judgement spurs them farther down the slippery slope of sexual sin?
We are called to be extensions of God’s grace, mercy and love. It is never too late for any man to find restoration and return to the heart of God. (Please don’t hear me saying I condone their sin, or that I am going to go hang out with rapists and sex offenders alone, but we can’t just throw them out.) These men are craving relationship, connection, intimacy and love just like the rest of us do. Yes the way they go about finding those things are wrong and hurtful to others (and they do require consequences where justice is concerned), but they are desperate cries that cannot be ignored.
The other day after the training I went on the MST outreach and was a part of a mobile prayer team. We went to various red light districts in the city and prayed over the men we saw outside various clubs and brothels that were buzzing with activity until early in the morning. There were two other groups participating with us, one stayed back at the base to pray and the other group roamed the streets and engaged men in conversation.
What struck me that night was that God is too faithful, too loving, and too gracious to give up on
these men. They are not happy, they are desperately chasing after feelings of intimacy and then in the morning they are faced with the reality that they are alone. My heart broke for them.
I know for a fact that God can change the messiest life and make it beautiful. There are many testimonies of men encountered in the red light districts that repented and gave their lives over to God. But they need people who are willing to sit in their mess with them, it is not a quick fix.
God desires to call out the greatness in men and in all of us really. Do any of us really live up to the potential that an intimate walk with God should inspire? I believe that God is pursuing the men in the red light districts just as much as he is the women. He is relentless and he will show himself to them like a roaring lion. I repent for all the times of looking at these men and only seeing the dirt and the grime. My prayer is that the love of Christ will penetrate their hearts and we will see transformation and lasting change.
I think we would be surprised to find that there is a hero disguised in the worst of men. Let's call them out.
