By Lucas Presson

"Twice Adopted: Loved by a President, Redeemed by God." This is the life story of Michael Reagan.

Last week, Michael Reagan, the eldest son of the late President Ronald Reagan and actress Jane Wyman. spoke on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. While the university has hosted many great speakers over the years, the latest guest lecturer proved to be one of the most moving in recent history.

Just days after his birth, Michael was adopted into the Reagan family. Nearly 40 years later, Michael would come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ when he was adopted into the family of God. During those years in between, the life of this Reagan was not perfect to say the least. In fact, at an early age, he was subjected to child molestation and pornography by a camp counselor. This twisted crime committed against Michael would torment him for years. He was continually haunted by doubts about his sexuality.

The eldest Reagan son had assumed since he was born out of wedlock and now was sexually molested that he was sure to go to hell. Everything in his life seemed out of control. To deal with the questions of sexually identity, Michael would pay prostitutes and "prove" to himself (and, he hoped, others) that he was heterosexual. His life would spiral into a life of anger against God until he met his wife, Colleen, in 1975. However, even after years of marriage, Michael had not exposed his deepest secrets to his parents or his wife.

Nearly 10 year later, Michael would open his heart to Colleen and explain what he had gone through. While Michael expected Colleen to leave him upon this revelation, she did not. Instead, she led Michael to the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 61:3 speaks of how Christ will give us "beauty for ashes." By God's grace, Michael's ashes have been exchanged for beauty. He is now an inspiration to the masses with the message of God's grace in his life. His candid talks on prominent social issues such as molestation, abuse, and abortion are changing the lives of people all over the country.

As he explains in his book, "Twice Adopted," families and churches must take a stand and minister to people dealing with these demons. While Michael's story has a happy ending, not all children who have gone through Michael's circumstances find the peace of God.

Michael noted in his address on campus that churches need to focus on "in-reaching." Outreach is a wonderful and necessary thing and should not be neglected, but churches should also take care of their own. Michael notes that many churches bury their collective head in the sand and say, "These issues aren't going on in our church," when in fact many church members are suffering over pornography, molestation, abuse, abortion or a host of other issues. Churches must help those people find relief and resolution through faith, counseling and friendship.

Michael noted in his lecture that before he became a Christian, people in his church would ask him about his famous father but would rarely ask about Michael himself. I challenge churches in Southeast Missouri to minister to their members who may be suffering in silence, and begin to speak out on these major social epidemics.

Lucas Presson of Cape Girardeau is the president of the Southeast Missouri State University College Republicans.