I really love organizations like Charity: Water, Invisible Children, Tom Shoe’s and Not for Sale, etc. They are all doing some really good things for our world as they serve the global poor and advocate on their behalf. For instance, a few weeks back thousands of folks across the country gathered with IC to bring awareness to the war in Uganda in an event they called The Rescue. Now let me say this, I really appreciate American’s becoming passionate about social justice issues across the globe. We must, it’s our responsibility!
But my fear is this: When things don’t change as rapidly as we all want, will we get tired and move on? We can’t get enough shoes to enough kids, we can’t drill water-well’s fast enough, we can’t rescue all the kids who are being trafficked or captured and turned into child-soldiers. Time and resources are not on our side. It’s going to take a lifelong effort to see massive change, but daily we move forward.
In the West we desire to conquer, we love to start and finish. We want solutions to the issues. Yet, when you deal with extreme poverty, you’re fighting a beast that is massive and beyond comprehension. I can’t support enough kids, or build enough orphanages, I can’t raise enough money or create the next “cool” thing. But, I can take the words of Paul to heart in 2nd Thess 3:13. Paul warns us to “not grow weary in doing good.”
Friends, this is the reason why it’s so important to do activism within the framework of the gospel. God calls us to act, endure, and fight for those who suffer. If social justice is just a cool event, where we gather with friends and have a “fun” time, eventually the masses will move forward. But those who are struck by the gospel will understand that this is a lifelong battle against injustice, we have an enemy that is seeking to devour this generation. And we simply refuse to allow this to happen, because if we allow extreme poverty to exist and if we refuse to act, then we are denying the call of Christ and not walking in His footsteps.
This is why I’m an advocate of Gospel Justice. I’m an activist, because deep inside my heart, there lives an activist, one who loves deeply and gave Himself for the whole world. And if I can learn to embrace Gospel Justice, then maybe I won’t tire, because my motivation to love, serve and sacrifice is based on Jesus, Scripture and mission.
I will post part two tomorrow. BTW: I’m not saying the above mentioned organizations are NOT doing gospel justice.
This is a great blog post. The key to this is to allow God to place it on your heart what he wants you to do.
Otherwise there are people who want to do it all and essentially they become unfocused or worse they burn out. I like your term gospel justice very much.
I don’t like the term social justice…that often starts with man’s view of justice and lots of lost people are involved with it. And in some cases this social justice ended up solving one oppression with another oppression.
As believers we must start from another place, Jesus – God’s desire and will – the Gospel of the Kingdom. He will lead us and direct us. For me, it was working with the homeless. For a friend of mine, it’s working with HIV/Aids Patients. For a couple of other friends, it’s helping immigrants.
If all Christians seek God, and get involved with his purpose and his mission, we could see powerful changes. Kids would have enough to eat, the homeless would have homes, African children would have enough food, clean water, and education… God would do amazing things through us if we let him.
While you use the term gospel justice, a similar concept is Gospel Poverty. It is a commitment to live in intimate, obedient relationship with God, to live simply so that we have the time and the resources to serve and help the poor and the outcasts
For more information on this check out
http://www.gospelpoverty.com
httep://www.squidoo.com/gospelpoverty