Kidnapped by the Enemy

Part 2 of a four-part series on the Good News.

Have you seen the warnings about human trafficking? It often happens in poor countries where young people have few job opportunities. Someone promises them a good job and a better life in another country. They agree, and sometimes pay heavily, to be smuggled illegally into a distant country. But that’s when they discover that the promises were all lies. Their identity documents are taken. They are forced to work difficult jobs or in the sex industry. They are beaten and threatened daily. Sometimes their families are threatened. They may be trapped for years, unable to speak the local language, unable to prove their identity, and with no way to reach out for help. Human trafficking isn’t just a foreign problem. Even our local young people are vulnerable to trafficking. People will meet them in person or online, promise them a better life, and then kidnap them for devious purposes.

In some way we are all victims of human trafficking. God loves us and wants us to be happy. But God isn’t the only force operating in our world. There is also an Enemy, called the Devil or Satan. He was created by God. Some believe he was very good, the best of all the angels God had created (the name Lucifer actually means ‘light bearer’). For reasons unknown to us, this amazing angel started a rebellion against God. He and other angels rejected God’s will and became very evil. They were cast out of Heaven by Archangel Michael and the faithful angels. Now they prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. And they operate like human traffickers.

Remember the snake in the Garden of Eden? He lied to Adam and Eve. When they chose sin, they forgot their identity as God’s children. Their personal sin in some way sold the human race into slavery. We are born into a world dominated by Sin and Death. Remember that we haven’t stopped being God’s good creation. But we struggle with our identity as children of God. We are lied to and hurt and hurt others in a perpetual cycle of sin. We suffer abuse and are guilty of abusing others. We feel the longing of separation from God, but our own choices often take us farther from God. We are the Prodigal Son.

Part 3: Rescued by Jesus Christ

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