God has been so good to me. My life has been filled with good people: with abundant love, with light, and with wholeness. And yet, I know that there is a world of need around me. I do not live in a bubble! I've seen desperate poverty, and the suffering it produces, up close and personal in developing nations. I've helped men and women to the light of Christ out of deep pits of darkness. I've comforted those who are dealing with terrors of sickness, the devastation of family disintegration, and the shame of personal failures and sins of all kinds. But still I find myself, from time to time, 'rediscovering' the need of this world from time to time. Yesterday was one of those days. Christianity Today, (July, 06) contained a report on the world's sex trade industry. The World Cup, the championship soccer event being held in Germany this year, is the site of commercial sex on a grand scale. 40,000 legal prostitutes are doing business at the games. Sex huts, complete with condoms and snacks, are provided around the venue! Talk about 'casual' sex! The article told of the sex slavery that young women from poor nations are drawn into, often unwittingly, by those who profit at high rates. Two-thirds of these women suffer from Post Traumatic Stress at levels like those found in veterans of combat or state sponsored torture. What kind of depravity makes a person destroy another's life for a few bucks? It is not a particular kind of evil that does this. It is just another expression of the ordinary evil that is all around us; the sinfulness that is the natural state of every human- the result of the Fall of Adam.
Believer, God sends you and me into the world to confront evil - be it the sex trade, or the more banal evil of an abusive husband in a family we know, or the economic exploitation of person. He calls on us to stand against systems that facilitate abuse of power, to shine the light on cruelty in whatever form it is found among us, to bring hope to the hopeless, healing to the broken, and peace to the troubled soul! The question that I find myself asking is "How can I make any difference?" Can I possibly have any effect on the tide of sin that washes over humanity?' In my own strength, with my own resources, the answer is obviously, "no." Even Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, using their $billions in generous and admirable philanthropy, won't stop the flow of suffering. They might save some, but sin and suffering will exist long after Gate's money is exhausted.
So, am I defeatist? Am I suggesting that we sound retreat and run from the battle with sin and Satan? NO! We run to the battle, equipped with God-given weapons that are sufficient to push back evil and the Evil One. God calls on us to go and love; and with the power of love we break the cycle of sin and suffering. Sound silly? Take a look at what Paul writes -
"The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6, The Message)
What we remember is that engaging with evil is costly. When Jesus left the Throne Room to become a Man, it was a costly choice that took Him all the way to the Cross. Love, alone, compelled Him to suffer and die for the sins of the world. Likewise, the fight for right, our commitment to serve the Kingdom of Heaven, will be costly. The Lord urged us to consider that cost before we enter the battle. He calls us to "Shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?" (Luke 9:23-25, NLT)
Remember Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush? The Lord spoke to him and called on him to return to Egypt to deliver the people of Israel from slavery to the Promised Land. His initial response was “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11, The Message) It may sound like an excuse, but I believe it reveals the humility of Moses, which his 40 years in the desert tending sheep had produced. The answer from Heaven that came to Moses echoes down to you and me as we, too, are commissioned to lead people out of slavery to the Promise of knowing God. The Lord answered - "I will be with you!"
On our own, with our meager resources, we can do little against evil. With God, we can move mountains.
So, are you ready to sign up for the cause of Christ? See the need. I hope it makes you feel small and inadequate, so much that you will fall to your knees and say, "Who am I, Lord?" And then to rise, empowered by the Spirit, filled with Heaven's boldness, prepared to 'use powerful God-tools to smash warped philosophies!'
Soli Deo Gloria!
_____________
No comments:
Post a Comment