Earlier this week the entire world was reacting to the foolish words of Todd Akin (see quote here, http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/world-affairs/2012/08/todd-akin-legitimate-rape-quote-day). In public statements about abortion after rape, he decided to defend his personal views by talking about "legitimate rape." Facebook blew up. News outlets pounced and women from as far away as Africa raised their voices. My hope in talking about this today is not to add another voice to the controversy, but very simply, to applaud the world for getting this one right. During my ten years in college ministry, I have yet to have a year pass in which I didn't sit across from a young woman in tears as she spoke to me about someone taking advantage of her body without her permission. More frequently than not, the evil was committed by a person they knew, or thought they knew. Someone they trusted, someone who was suppose to protect them from such nightmares. I have been deeply satisfied to watch the world respond unanimously on this issue in the last week. Regardless of race, religion, or gender, the majority of the world appears to still recognize something of the sacredness,intimacy and value of the act of sex. Admittedly, our world has fashioned unimaginable ways to distort and destroy this gift as well, but today, much of the watching world appears to agree that when a woman says no (or a man),no one has a right to betray their will.
As a pastor, there are few issues,if any, that rival the devastating effects of rape. Almost nothing can compete with the sense of loss, guilt, isolation, shame and fear. God has designed sex to be a final consummation of the gift of marriage. It stands as a beautiful covenantal agreement that symbolizes, in so many ways, the deep covenantal love between God and his creatures through the image of his son the groom and the church his bride. It is intended to be the deepest and most profound expression of human love.
For everyone today who has had that vision tainted by a stranger, a parent, a lover, a teacher, a pastor, a friend, or a sibling...today the world has affirmed your pain. You are not alone and we agree that what happened to you was infinitely wrong. There will never be such a thing as legitimate rape. Jesus has never abandoned you in your pain and he is not silent in your agony. He is making all things new, and he is able to write a new chapter. As Dan Allender once said, "God is writing your story, but he is not writing the sin in your story." The pages authored by the hatred of another can have a different ending. You are not alone today, life can begin again.
