Raped

That's an amazing choice you made for God good for you.

Thanks for sharing PaigeyStorm.

God Bless.

Brittany, I you were referring to me, I didn't say to have him charged and arrested. I said that we have laws and law enforcement for a purpose. God had His hand in those laws and uses those leaders. We are to respect our laws because they are there to protect us. God uses manmade things for our benefit. The verse you referenced still applies in some sense, but here's the difference. First, confronting a brother is a good thing in any case. However in certian circumstances because of our society and law, there are legal avenues for the confrontations in extreme circumstances. In the past, the legal authorities were the church which is why they didn't go to a separate entity to confront a brother. Because the church had legal rights to deal with issues, people were punished. When women were stoned for adultery, they were brought to church leaders, convicted, and sentenced. Nowadays, our churches don't have legal authority to punish many crimes. Therefore, we go to police. Going to the police is our part and God can still have mercy there if He pleases. We reap what we sow. What this boy did was wrong, but repentance doesn't prevent the consequences of our behavior. Abraham took Gods promise into his own hands. He realized later he was wrong and repented, but Ishmael was still born. And he was still a beloved son that he was forced to give away. Jonah repented in the belly of a great fish, but he stole had to wait in that belly until he was spewed out. It wasn't immediate.
Paige, I want you to know I'm on your side. Written word is easily misinterpreted communication. You are new, so you have not heard my story. I am not saying at all that you are responding the same way, but I hope you will see it as a possibility.
I was raped and otherwise assaulted for about 8 yrs by my father. This began when I was an infant, and so I was raised thinking very wrong actions were perfectly appropriate. I was only when I was 6 and molested at school that I began to object to my fathers treatment, but he ignore my objections until my mother finally took me seriously about 2 yrs later. However, my whole life I just considered him stupid. I minimized his treatment of me as him being ignorant or me not being clear enough. Over the years, I was molested over and over by family friends mostly. In addition, my mother would take me to drinking an drug infested parties and leave me alone with plastered middle aged men crawling all over me. As a young teenager at that point I didn't realize that it was my moms job to protect me. So I minimized her treatment. She was lonely. She was bored. I just had a scarlet letter so any treatment I got meant I would let the other person off an blame myself. Since it was something about me that drew them, it had to be my fault.
At 17 I was raped. I remember waking up the next day thinking, "what just happened?" I was injured and shamed. My first reaction was, "look at what I did again." But as I realized my injuries were worse than of thought, I got scared. I had just moved to college and as a minor I had to tell a parent. For three days I held it in because I didn't want to face my mother. I reported him and after two weeks of hell, it was over. Nothing happened to him beyond academic probation.
With every perpetrator in my life, I avoided punishing them though they deserved punishment. People reap what they sow and its not our jobs to prevent their reaping. God may have mercy on them, but God chooses that. I'm too nice. I have in the past allowed myself to e run over by people over and over again just because they apologize. My mother is bipolar and schizophrenic, but she was not diagnosed when I was little. She bulldozed me left and right, and I was raised to allow her to because she said sorry. That was not right. As an adult I have learne to draw boundaries with her. I cut off (most) communication with her for several
months. While its been very difficult, she is finally getting help and I am able to talk to her again. But I had to do the "unloving" thing first. I also confronted my father. He disowned me and I got an emergency call 6 months later. He died two days later. But I was able to tell him I forgave him, offer him grace, pray with him, worship over him, and hold his hand while he died. I planned his funeral, wrote his obituary, sang at the funeral, and gave the closing prayer. Had I not confronted him, this healing would not have taken place.
Paige, I understand a lot of the process and the emotions. You're still young and God has given you resiliency. I am 28 yrs old, and I've through this stuff too many times over. God is still doing amazing things. I'm here if you wanna chat.

Hilariously its her choice if she prosecutes or not. She chose not to, I don't understand why anything beond her choice is your business?

Nautilus...so not appreciating your mocking tone, your lack of concern for very young female and absent sense of justice and your misrepresentation of the way the legal system works. in summary...ICK.

BarlyGurl,

If someone has that in thier heart and is able to forgive someone of such a thing even though you must remember the Lord looks at sin the same how beautiful a thing that is. How beautiful it is for someone to hurt beyond measure in an unfair way and still have a heart to show compassion. That's where true love comes from.
Justice the bible says belongs to the Lord she chose to give this situation to him. These kind of things can destroy people and she made something great out of it. Ya know I have no concern for her as well because it's obvious the Lord is moving in her life

That's right Anonymous... because according to your way of thinking...God never instituted a government to execute social justice or specified how to punish specific types of crimes, nor did he set forth a hierarchal structure of operational authority. The majority of the respondents here have an attitude that you are islands unto yourselves... que sera sera... it is error. Most of you would be on the phone calling 911 to see a stranger in your driveway bashing your car with a sledge hammer yet you are unmoved to hear a 15 year old girl report being a victim of a premeditated planned rape attack!

Paige, I am not picking on you... we had our talk... this is about the respondents NOT YOU... Please know that.

Your a very Judgemental person. You do not know my way of thinking in this and how I would feel bieng the one in that situation. You dont know anything about the abuse i've gone through in my life but aside from that it's not about me it's about her.

Yes there are laws against these things but she choose another route within herself. If the man should be judged by the Law let him be BUT LET THE LORD decide it's not up to us.
I'm moved by an amazing love she showed to another person in this world from something so vicious. It's such a beautiful thing to see a heart like that and THAT is what moves me .


Do you realize that maybe that's something the Lord knew she needed to overcome in her life? Do you think that maybe the Lord was giving the man a second chance through her and maybe she was showing Gods grace through it? How many days have christians sat and been whipped unjustly and forgave those people with the heart Christ gave us? Stephen was bieng stoned to death but did not condem the evil men he simply said Lord please forgive them they know not what they do.

I'm not picking at you as a woman to hear about something like this it must be heartbreaking and you want to see Justice in your own way but she made a much more amazing choice by forgiving him. It's a hard thing to see and I myself have pointed the finger wanting to see someone punished but again the Lord says in Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

I'm a human I know the feeling of wanting retobution and i'm def guilty of it but the Lord has shown me the way of forgivness.

By the way Jesus knew we all needed a savior? What makes a man who steals a loaf of bread and the man she mentioned any diffrent in Gods eyes? Both need the blood of Christ you me him her and anyone else WE are no better in reality.

Thats not a misrepresentation. She decided not to pursue legal action as is her right. And Im not unconcerned about the girl, she seems to be handling things quite well. Youre the one who has all the issues in this thread.