Sometime in 1995 I read an article in a Rolling Stones magazine about a young girl from an all-American household.  Couple has a little girl, couple breaks up and little girl is without her father.  Little girl is raised here and there, searching for an identity.  Before long I found out that what I was reading was the story of Shannon Wilsey, aka Savanah.  Shannon became the highest paid pornographic film star in history (up to that point) and had killed herself. 

   As I finished the article I was struck by the potential she had in Christ.  I should have told her how much her Father in heaven loved her.  I couldn’t shake the picture of her being God’s little princess, the one He had knit together in her mothers womb.  The pornography, the lifestyle of drugs and alcohol, that was just a picture of human nature looking for that something to fill the God shaped hole in their life.  It did not change how God felt about her and He was still waiting to see her at the end of the road so He could run to her and lavish His love upon her. 

   Where was the church when Shannon needed to have that love exemplified.  Were we judging her for her actions? Were we afraid to get too close?  Did we wonder what the elders might think if someone saw us associating with her kind?  Jesus had a name for her kind, the lost.  If you ever see a sinner and ask the question, “What kind of a person would associate with that kind of person?” know well that Jesus’ answer is, “My kind.”  To see exactly what Jesus said about Shannon Wilsey check out, Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 15:11-24, Matthew 18:12-13, Luke 15:11-24

 “While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
                                                                                                                                                             Matthew  9:10-13

Samantha

 Samantha lived with her mommy,

until she grew out of her life too soon.

She said I’m gonna be rich and everyone will wish that they were me

My name will be written in the stars

Hops a bus into Los Angeles, they say that’s where it all begins

Steppin’ off she leaves her dreams next to an old bag lady

Cause she knows that’s where it ends.

Samantha meets a girl named Julie, whose body pays the rent

She said it’s not so bad you just close your eyes and think of home

She says Samantha can dance with her.

Samantha gets a part in a movie, sign says leave your morals at the door

That’s when her eyes grow cold, she forgets what it means to be loved

I want to let her know.

CHORUS

God’s love, can reach into the darkest corner

God’s love, can penetrate the hardest shell

God’s love, can turn me into a shining beacon

Until it reaches hell, until it reaches hell

It all becomes easier as the weeks turn into years

Samantha’s crowned the queen of porn.

Sometimes she stops to think how her mom would feel

if she knew that she was alive,

Then she takes another drink

I wish she could’ve seen the potential,

that I saw in her,

but she stopped looking long ago

There’s so many like her just another sad song,

in a sad world, I want to let them know

On a cold day, in a cold garage,

Samantha puts a gun to her head

She thought the pain would be over but

baby it’s just begun,

Samantha it’s just begun.

I wish she could’ve seen the potential I saw in her, but I never let her know