At the conclusion of the Race Across America, I was approached by Harper, an 8-year-old daughter of one of the ZOE cyclists. She is the epitome of beauty and innocence. With a shy smile, she handed me a homemade decorated envelope. Because of my job, I’m handed envelopes often, and I’m grateful for each one. But the glitter and color told me this one was different. Harper’s eyes beamed as her simple act of generosity meant something profoundly deep to her.

Harper and her family had been following the race—her dad was one of the cyclists—when on day 3, one of our riders wrecked his bike and sustained life-threatening injuries. Her mom did what great moms do and processed the accident with her daughter. She also reinforced “why” the ZOE team was doing this: there are children that need to be rescued, and the team is putting their life on the line to raise money and awareness for those children.

It’s been a long time since I was 8! How does an 8-year-old process these heavy truths? I take solace that Harper—in her innocence—doesn’t yet know what those of us on the front lines know about the horrid experiences of the children that ZOE rescues. But Harper knew enough as she dashed to her bedroom and began to decorate an envelope and empty the contents of her personal piggy bank into it. 

In a broken world where children are sexually exploited due to lust and greed, we need to look to scripture for assurance that justice will prevail. Here in Isaiah, we are assured that God’s servant, Jesus, is at work despite the realities in our world. Notice how Jesus is synonymous with justice.

Isaiah 42:1-4
[1] “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
[2] He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
[3] A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
[4] he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

How and in what timing Jesus brings justice to the nations is sometimes an enigma. That’s why at ZOE, we start the process of our justice journey by sitting at the feet of Jesus and remaining connected to him. Without Jesus, it’s just too hard and unwise to attempt this on our own—I know this from personal experience. 

What we do know is that Jesus often starts by inspiring His own people with a stirring in our spirit that causes us to no longer be able to look the other way. It’s something deep within us that enflames us with righteous anger and moves us to action. 

Recently, through current events and a blockbuster movie, there’s been a buzz about child trafficking. The Church at large seems to be awakened to the atrocities of the sexual exploitation of God’s children. Those of us on the frontline of child trafficking are glad for this awareness as we’ve been beating the same drum for years. Now finally, the Church seems to be listening.

The real question that remains is: What are we as believers in God’s justice going to do with this new sense of awareness we now possess? Awareness is great, and it’s a start, but awareness without action is dead (James 2:20).

If you’re looking for specific actions steps, here are a few:

We can…

• EDUCATE ourselves about the trafficking in our own communities.
• ATTACK VULNERABILITY. Without vulnerability, traffickers have little to prey on.
• FINANCIALLY INVEST in trusted ministries, such as ZOE International.
• ENCOURAGE and SUPPORT those on the front lines of human trafficking.

I’m inspired by Harper. Thank you, Harper, for reminding me why I do what I do. For lifting my head out of the distraction and discouragement and pointing it back towards Jesus, who inspires a sweet, innocent girl to do her part in fighting pure evil.

Tags: evil, redemption, justice, salvation, fight, slavery, awareness, innocence, human trafficking, sexual exploitation