Injustice and our great Hope in a world full of Need

My apologies for the long absence. It seems that life can easily become so busy that I forget to stop and record it - each memory becoming a blur that slowly fades away. So here I am, stopping, recording, and just savoring.

I have been thinking a lot lately about justice, and the ridiculousness of my life as an affluent white person in the sheltered town of Boulder. I have been reading Gary Haugen's book "The Good News about Injustice". Gary founded the International Justice Mission after spending years trying to find hope amid despair while working as a lawyer for the US Dept of Justice. He traveled to Rwanda in 1994 to act as director of the UN Genocide investigation. His book talks about the difference that people have been able to make in a world full of oppression and injustice. His desire in writing this book is that we would be motivated to make a difference rather than standing back and becoming overwhelmed by the pain we see around us.

Oppression and injustice has largely for me been an intellectual issue. I can't honestly say I've been oppressed or deprived of anything significant in my short life. My interactions with the truly poor have been limited to short term mission trips to Mexico and strolls through downtown San Francisco and Chicago, where the homeless seem to outnumber the wealthy. In the moment, my heart tugs with the desire to help, but later on, in the comfort of my own home, I seem to forget the needs of those less fortunate than myself.

Something changed a month or so ago. I co-lead a small group at a church in downtown Boulder that exists for the purpose of providing community and fellowship to those who are thirsting for such things. One of our regular attenders is homeless. He is a wonderful man with a big heart and a love for the Lord. He just happens to not have a job. Or a home. And his truck is broken. And he needs our help.

All of a sudden, the intellectual questions don't matter. The gospel call to share with your neighbor all that you have suddenly seems more poignant. And as I watch members of my small group brainstorm and come up with solutions to some of his current needs, I begin to wonder, am I REALLY willing to sacrifice for my neighbor? Why have I not already helped this new friend? And so, the gospel and all its difficult truths, comes alive for me. And I am challenged in a huge way. I am being called to love people who don't look just like me. And that's not as easy as I thought it might be. But, yet, I believe it is why we are here. I believe it is part of the Plan.

And so I work to do my part. And it is small. It seems insignificant. But maybe, just maybe, it doesn't seem so small and insignificant to those on the receiving end. And maybe I can learn a lesson from my small group members - maybe I can learn to be more generous with my time, my resources, and my opportunities. And maybe Gary Haugen is right. Maybe the difference really is made one person at a time.