Healing the Wounds of Trauma

B. How can we help these children? God has a special love for the fatherless (Dt 10.18). In Psalm 68.5–6, it says: “God, who lives in his sacred Temple, cares for orphans and pro- tects widows. He gives the lonely a home to live in and leads prisoners out into happy freedom, but rebels will have to live in a desolate land.” As Christians, we should ask God to give us his special love for these children. They are not responsible for the bad things that have been done to them.They need our love evenmore than other children.They need special teaching from God’s Word to assure them that their life is not an accident. Some Scriptures that might be helpful are Psalm 139.13–18 and Isaiah 49.15. When they begin asking who their father is, it is good to tell them the truth. They most likely know more than people think they know. If the father is known, let them know who he is. If he is already dead, tell them who the relatives are. Church leaders will need to help the whole family to accept a child like this. The husbandmay find this difficult, and even older brothers and sisters may struggle with it. When the time comes for the baby to be dedicated or baptized in church, ask for a special blessing on the baby and the family. 6. How can we help rapists? Rapists need to know that there is no sin that God will not forgive (Is 1.18). They may have raped more than once. They may continue to have a burning desire to have sex and think they can’t overcome it. They need to have someone with whom they can talk about this and confess their sin. This person needs to pray with them and keep them accountable for their actions day by day so that they will never do it again. Rapists need to take full responsibility for what they have done. They need to ask victims for forgiveness. Although they can never restore a victim’s purity, they should do whatever they can to help as a visible sign of their repentance. There may be legal consequences they will have to face.

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How Can We Help Someone Who Has Been Raped?