'Cheap grace' can add to abuse

Rob Parsons (inset, above) explains how a girl’s question about forgiveness rocked his world about how Christians should deal with it.

I have just returned from Asia, where I had the opportunity to witness the incredible work that Tearfund is doing to help care for children rescued from the sex trade.

I was so moved as I met with the children, some as young as ten, who had been sold into sexual slavery.

I also visited a ministry that works with young people who have been sexually abused within their own families or by close social contacts.

It offers counsel, support and, perhaps most importantly, hope.

It was, of course, both a sad and sobering experience, but all the more so because one of the counsellors said that much of this abuse was occurring within the church.

The story of one small girl touched my heart in a special way. The counsellor told me that she came from a churchgoing family and had been abused by her father. After years of suffering, the dreadful secret came out.

She had expected that others in the church would now come to her aid, and that at last there would be an end to her ongoing trauma.

The church did indeed confront her father and he admitted what he’d been doing.

He asked everyone, including God, to forgive him, and said he was determined never to do it again.

The church believed him – and the abuse went on.

THIS ISN'T THE END OF THE STORY!

Read the whole article in context in the March 2024 issue of Direction Magazine.

Direction Magazine

Direction is the official monthly publication of the Elim Pentecostal Churches in the UK, and is packed with all Elim's latest news, inspiration, vision and teaching. Find the latest edition and many back issues of Direction here.