What would God say to Brock Turner?

Dear Brock Turner,

A lot of people have been saying a lot of things to you about your recent sentence, there has been a lot of outrage towards you and the worlds justice system and I think that in the middle of all the noise from them, that a few words from me, the Almighty God and your creator, would bring clarity.

In your statement you say numerous times that you have lost your chance at life, that your life has been shattered and in that way you would be right, but I want to open your eyes to the fact that it wasn’t the “party culture” you are keen on blaming. Your downfall is entirely your own, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” – 1 cor. 6:18 Because of your choices you have harmed yourself and destroyed so many opportunities I have put in front of you. You were just starting at Stanford, you were just beginning your years as a young man and it saddens me – and should sadden the world – that you chose what you did, but be clear Brock, you did choose and you cannot blame party culture for that choice.

And, Brock, though it saddens me, your choice also enrages me because of what you have destroyed.

Not only have you destroyed the purpose that I designed you for at the beginning of the world – the purpose of a man to protect and provide for women and children, to be upstanding and to make positive change in this earth in my name – but you have marred the sexuality of one of my daughters and perverted my perfect design for the permeant union that I called sex.

I made sex to bind two human beings, man and woman, to each other for life, not as some mistake or some romp of pleasure to be taken with innumerable different individuals until it means nothing. Sex is much more than you, your urges, or your pleasure. Sex, in the end, is meant to be a depiction of my desired connection with humanity, perfect, unending, raw, honest and translucent. Sex is one of the most intimate ways that you can be with another person and ought to be reserved for the one whom you have promised yourself to as I have promised myself to you.

My son died on the cross to be one with you Brock, but you didn’t even do as much as learn the girls name.

My law states that you deserve death to have taken her as you did, so you should know that your sentence of only 6 months is lax in comparison to what you deserve and the reason for that is that the world doesn’t treasure life, sex or love the way its creator does. For years the whole world has been marring my original design for sex within marriage and making a joke of what I created to be a beautiful picture of my love for mankind, but you have done even more than make it a joke, you have made it violent and I don’t think you realize the affect that you have had on the life and self-worth of my daughter.

Now she is forever connected to you, someone who did not love her nor care about her and someone who she did not choose. My daughter had the right to either choose you or refuse you, but you ignored that right and you have distorted her view of choice, of love and sex and of herself. Suddenly part of her is stuck to you forever, and she hates that part with all she is because she despises you. The sad thing is that the part you stole was meant to run all the way down to her core to remind her and teach her about me, but you have completely ruined the picture I was trying to create through her sexuality.

Sex is meant to be safe, it’s meant to be committed and pure and honest between two people forever. When she had sex she was supposed to see the way that I treasured her and would never leave her through the commitment and adoration of her husband, but now she will never see it the same way again, and even if she chooses to come to me and I cleanse her she will have a battle every day to keep on choosing different from what you forcefully indoctrinated her with: fear, pain, regret, worthlessness, and flippancy.

When you read this Brock I hope you shut out the other voices, the ones that call you rapist, the ones that call you criminal and hear what I am trying to call you: responsible.

The fact is that everyone has fallen short of my glory (Romans 3:23) and you are not any more separated from me than anyone else is, this whole world is doused in sin, Brock, and that includes you, but the only escape from your sinfulness is your responsibility and your admittance of what you have done.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 john 1:5-9

Notice, you must confess your sins to be forgiven, but this verse should encourage you because it also says that I will be faithful to you as well as just and this is the good news that I think you might be missing in the storm of obscenities and hate that people are throwing your way in this time.

My only Son died for you Brock Turner.

I love you perfectly, even though you didn’t love the girl you raped at all.

I want complete connection with you, even though you disrespected my daughter and laughed in the face of my design.

I want you to be able to be my son, upstanding in both my eyes and the eyes of men, despite all you have done and all the incorrect thinking you hold.

And it will be easy to get all of this, even though transforming your thoughts to match mine instead of the world will take patience and time (Romans 12:2). You can get to the place where you can once again have “a hope and a good future” because I know the plans that had for you in the beginning and if you choose me I will guide your steps from sin into a righteous life (Jeremiah 29:11; Proverbs 16:9; Psalm 40:2)

Let me pull you from the pit you have dug Brock Turner, let me renew your mind, change your life, your thoughts, your words and most of all, let me make your spirit alive in me.

Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

So in all of this Brock, I have one hope, that you will see what you have done wrong, that deep within you, you have no hope of your own, that you will see that you are a sinner full of wrong thought patterns and horrible actions. I hope you will see that you cannot be good on your own and I hope you will see that you deserve the sentence you have been given and more, but I hope you see that your spirit can yet be saved and that your life can yet be worth something in me. I hope you see that you can be both forgiven and cleansed from your actions – even though you don’t deserve it – because my son died so you could deserve it.

My Son, Jesus Christ, lived a perfect life – without any sin – knowing that one day you would be born and grow up to rape an innocent girl, knowing that you would spit in his very face and act as if none of it was your fault; and he still chose to be your sacrifice, your cleansing and he took your place by dying and stealing the keys to your soul and your life back from the devil in hell. Now, if you accept him, when I look at you I will see his perfect sacrifice instead of all your sin and you will be perfect in my eyes. It is through this only that you will come to be one with me in heaven and avoid the eternal pit called hell. It is through this only that I can provide you with my strength and power to turn your life around and attempt to right your wrongs on earth.

My son, I love you, come home.

Your Father,

God.

#BrockTurner #stanford #rapetrial #rape