In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. published Why We Can’t Wait—a riveting call to action against racial discrimination. He had many peers that told him to quiet his grievances, but King refused to wait any longer. He simply had to act, and faced legal and physical consequences for doing so.

Here we are in 2019, 55 years later, and we have reached another critical juncture in American history. My fellow sisters and brothers—there is another set of vicious crimes against humanity that we can’t continue to ignore: sexual misconduct. The #MeToo movement is in full stride, leaders are dropping like flies to allegations against them, organizations are being charged, and the Southern Baptist Convention is now facing its own set of accusations in allegedly refusing to act on sexual abuse cases. And there are people behind each of these stories—moms, daughters, dads, husbands, wives, and friends whose lives have been turned upside down. Friends, we can’t wait any longer.

The Image of God

Here’s why we can’t wait. The answer is found in Genesis 1:26-28:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

There it is: humans were made in God’s image. God made humans to take care of his creation and make other image-bearers so that his glory would suffuse the earth.

Devastating Consequences

Sadly, humans caved into misconduct—or sin—not soon after their creation. The consequences were devastating. First came blame-shifting, then came outright murder, and eventually humanity was set on a course of destroying the image of God in them (Genesis 3:12; 4:8). God installed temporary measures like sacrifices to right the wrongs of humanity. But these were only bandages for major lacerations in the hearts of men and women.

Then Came Jesus

Colossians 1:15 says that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” The first man—Adam—bore the likeness of God, but his sin prevented him from fully displaying the glory of God. The same was true for his descendants. But Jesus, in whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” bears the image of God perfectly for he is God (Colossians 1:19). So now we are urged to follow Jesus’s lead and not Adam’s lead. Paul writes, “those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn of many brothers” (Romans 8:29). Nevertheless, history shows us that many choose not to follow Jesus.

Spitting in the Face of God

It is in this dynamic that we find ourselves in today. The image of God is not on full display and one result is crime against humanity. It gets worse though. Whenever we harm God’s image-bearers, it is like spitting in the face of God himself. So when we cuss at the driver in front of us going slow down the freeway, we disregard the image of God in them. When we get fussy and hold grudges, Jesus goes as far as saying that we are committing murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Any crime against another person is a crime against God himself.

So here we are today. Things our leaders thought they could ignore from decades past are now destroying their credibility. Whole movements like #MeToo have been created because victims of sexual misconduct have been overlooked or bullied enough to stay quiet.

Friends, the American Christian community can’t wait anymore because fellow image-bearers are being harmed for the pleasure of others. We also can’t wait because the accused themselves need the restorative work of the gospel to redeem the image of God in them. The victims need Jesus. The perpetrators need Jesus. Oh, sisters and brothers, we need Jesus!

So What Now?

The image of God is at stake if we refuse to acknowledge and address sexual misconduct in the American climate. In our next few blogs, I will acknowledge and address the problem of sexual misconduct from three perspectives: individual, organizational, and industrial. It is my goal for us to be so moved by the mistreatment of God’s image that we can’t help but do something.

What are some other reasons you can think of why we can’t wait any longer regarding sexual misconduct?