Irresistible Invitation To Justice
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Mark 1:16–18
At the beginning of Mark’s account of the life of Jesus, he tells the story of Jesus going to synagogue, reading from the Word of God and announcing his job description:
proclaim good news to the poor.
proclaim freedom for the prisoners
recovery of sight for the blind,
set the oppressed free,
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
“This hope long promised is why I came,” he told them, “this hope is now a reality that is breaking in through me.” He lived out this call and after his resurrection delegated this charge to the Church, adding that through the Holy Spirit which he has sent we can do that job more effectively than he could. So, how does that play out in our lives?
It plays out first in awareness. Who are the poor, who are the prisoners, who are the blind, and who are the oppressed? They are of course those who actually lack financial resources, those whose eyes do not work and those in our prison systems, but they include more as well. They includes those in our neighborhoods who are in their own way poor blind and imprisoned— not as instead of those who technically are but in addition to those. Be aware, ask God to give you eyes to see and then use them to see — you will not have to look far.
What then do you do with what you see? You ask God what to increase your awareness. You educate yourself and then ask “is there someone already addressing this? Can I join them? Are there others in my circle of friends that might share my newfound or growing burden? Awareness, education and then movement — go, step out to join someone in the work they are doing. God will meet you in the stepping out and stepping in (I promise, and more importantly so does he).
As we end our yearly focus on Human Trafficking Awareness I am so thankful for the friends of Creekside who shared with us these past three Sundays:
Edward Sumner from REST
Jeremy Vallerand from Rescue Freedom International and Climb for Captives
Jocelyn White from International Justice Mission and Slavery No More
As we close out our focus on Human Trafficking Awareness, I am more and more convinced that we are pretty aware. Our next step is education and action. What are you doing to continue to educate yourself in this area? How are you taking action? Consider putting the National Human Trafficking Hotline (888) 373-7888 in your phone so that you can report anything you see. Contact our speakers or any of on staff to investigate further action. If human trafficking is not the burden that God has given you, what is that burden? What is that? Often clarified is gained as you step into participating in ministries of justice that might not be your specific burden but that meet a specific need and at the sometime give you clarity for the specific thing God has for you – his irresistible invitation.
Peace, hope and Love
Doug