30 Days of Truth: If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble…

Truth #7: If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble…

If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:6 NIV

The Lie:  Does Jesus even care about abuse?  Maybe He is okay with it?
A few years ago, when I was picking my daughter up from summer camp the pastor shared a short message for the parents. He started by giving us the illustration of an orange seed, and how it is so important to make sure that orange seeds are planted in a thriving environment in order to have the best oranges possible.
He said, “You can have the best orange seed ever, but it needs warmth, good soil, and sunshine. If you take away the good environment and place that best orange seed elsewhere it will not be the orange it was intended to be.”
He went on to say it is the same for children. They are precious gifts, and we have to make sure they are in the environment that allows them to be all that God has designed them to be.
He came to the edge of the stage and looked at the audience again and reiterated that the Bible is very clear about how precious children are to Jesus. We should be taking good care of them and without going into details we should be warned about what the Bible says about harming children and causing them to sin.  He read Matthew 18:6 to us:
If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:6 NIV
As he closed in prayer, my heart was pounding. I felt the presence of Jesus embracing the little girl in me who needed to hear those words long ago.
I realize it is not easy to talk about sexual abuse. It’s complicated. It’s taboo. It’s horrific.
But, it is necessary and important.
It’s time.

But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don’t have to make it worse—and it’s doomsday to you if you do. Matthew 18:6-7 (MSG)

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.  John 8:32 NIV

April is #SAAM (Sexual Assault Awareness Month) and for thirty days I will share the lies I believed and the truth that I discovered in my healing from childhood sexual abuse. To start at the beginning and read the first post click here —> 30 Days of Truth – I am a Masterpiece