Like me you’ve probably never heard of  Kathryn Bolkovac.

I browsed the video store on Saturday evening and was depressed by the amount of violence and ‘nothingness’ of 90% of the material. Then I saw ‘The Whistleblower’. In the light of my post last week about sex trafficking my interest piqued as I read about an female law enforcement officer who had joined the  United Nations peacekeeping force in Bosnia. During her tour of duty she uncovered a frightening level of abuse and exploitation as young girls were captured, used, and sometimes killed for the money they brought in through sex trafficking. What was even more disturbing was that they were driven across borders by those working for the UN and their services were exploited by peacekeeping force personnel. Instead of protecting the various groups in Bosnia they exploited their vulnerability.

Kathryn Bolkovac challenged the powers that be in the UN and was eventually forced to flee. She broke the story in Britain and no-one was ever called to account except her – she was fired and cannot gain employment with the UN again.

It’s stories like these that make me angry and yet reinforce my resolve to follow Jesus and to serve him. He was a whistleblower as well. He challenged religious leaders and people in power who used status and privilege to fulfill selfish agendas at the expense of others. He was killed by them.

If you want to know how people can do such a thing look in the mirror and face Jesus yourself. He speaks truth about how our lives have become disfigured and rebellious. Out of the deep corruption of hearts people do foolish things such as exploiting young girls for sex. You have to hate yourself, be numb to justice, and have no regard for others to do such things. As with drug abuse no-one starts with full-blown actions of rape or addictive behavior. It’s a gradual decline and desensitization, a seductive dance between compromise and self-gratification that captivates and intoxicates. Before you know it you’re lost in the shadows amidst weeping and corpses protesting, “I never knew.”

But before we Christians become too arrogant and proud that ‘we would never do that’ consider your life. If sex trafficking is wrong, alongside all the other acts of human depravity that scream ‘lostness’ into a callous world, what are you and I doing to bear witness to a better way?

The one we follow, Jesus, laid down his life quietly and privately at a time where YouTube couldn’t send the crucifixion ‘viral’ and almost no-one understood what he was doing. Except God His Father had his hand upon history and held His only Son firmly in His grip. He raised him up from death at the hands of men so that one day you and I would hear and possibly know an unimaginable hope and a rescue mission no movie script could ever portray as believable.

Why Jesus?

Because when our best attempts at justice represented in the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces (and there are many good and noble people there) can be so blind, politically sensitive to prostitute justice, and inconsistent with matters of truth and peace –  I can’t find a trustworthy foundation or reason to place my faith in the hands of men and women.

I thank God for what Kathryn Bolkovac had the courage to expose….. and for Jesus who paid the price so that hope can be found in the darkest of places because of Him.

We’re approaching Easter – the vast majority of our contemporaries have dismissed the greatest whistleblower in history as a myth, irrelevant, or worse.

The creativity of human corruption has twisted the Cross into a harmless easter bunny and Christians nibble chocolate with the best of them, take holidays in the sun on Good Friday, and would prefer any celebration on Sunday to be over in time to watch their favorite sporting event.

It doesn’t have to be that way – if you and I care enough to do what Kathryn Bolkovac did when no-one was looking. If we stand up for what we believe and joyfully share the life of Jesus, and act differently because of him… maybe some will not turn to pornography for love, or hire a girl for gratification; and maybe the light will grow and spread as we determine to ‘be light in the darkness’ whatever the inconvenience or cost. We can all do something right where we are today.

Practice by serving in your local Christian church, committing yourself to love those around you even when it’s inconvenient, and place the interests of others before your preferences and comfort.

Be a hero…..

Your Love o Lord…. Third Day