Flicking the Switch

Spending time with Emma can be uncomfortable. She trusts God in a way which is rare to see. She unquestioningly puts her faith in the words Jesus spoke. And although at times it scares her, she doesn’t hide who she is. She doesn’t pretend. I rarely walk away from Emma feeling unchallenged.

It’s rare to find someone who is so open. What’s more amazing is that Emma’s 45 years have been less than sheltered. At five years old Emma’s dad started selling her to family members in Reading for sex. She was repeatedly bought and sold until she met a man who became her boyfriend and at age 12 she ran away to London with him. Her boyfriend then pimped her out in clubs and bars across the city. Emma ended up working in the sex industry for thirty years until she attended a support group where she began to deal with her issues and got to know Jesus. Although often finding it very painful, Emma is still working through things that have hurt her in the past and is discovering hope.

Working for a London based charity, I meet people who have been abused, bought, trafficked and sold. Sometimes I find it hard to look. I would be lying if I told you that doing my job hasn’t made me question where on earth God is when things like this happen.

There’s a verse I love in the New Testament which describes God as

…the father of compassion and the God of all comfort

The word ‘compassion’ comes from two Latin words: cum, meaning 'with,' and passio, meaning 'to suffer’. To say that God has compassion for us is to say that he suffers with us when we’re in pain. He doesn’t shy away.

Society often suggests that having a hard heart is something to aspire to, that indifference displays inner strength, that being strong and remaining soft are somehow mutually exclusive.

I have to admit that I tend to fall for that one from time to time. I start to believe that if I want to be stronger I must become harder, unaffected. Openness becomes a weakness I must eliminate in order to live a more convenient life.

But hardening our hearts and ignoring what is going on around us and within us is simply the easy option. Let’s be honest, it’s much riskier to put yourself in a place where you may experience pain – whether your own or on behalf of someone else – than to shut yourself off. I find it much easier to stop taking risks and to keep an easy distance from my friend or neighbour who is hurting. If I harden my heart I can switch off my connection to the world as easily as flicking a light switch.

If I had kept my distance from Emma I would never have experienced hope in the unique way she emits it. Sometimes, by shutting ourselves off from pain, we may miss the beauty emerging from the brokenness.

God suffers with us and with the people around us. God is the one who brings light to darkness. We can go forward, even though afraid. We can take those risks or we can hide.

Take the risk or flick the switch. It’s a choice most of us will face time and time again for the rest of our lives.

The good news is that we don’t have to do it alone. Thank God for that.