Finding Momentum

Bowen asked me a good question on my last post — ”Any reason why IJM in particular?”

I answered to the effect that 1) it was the first organization that my friends had mentioned to me regarding human trafficking and 2) I have an older friend who worked there a couple of years ago.

I want to follow that up with a third reason: IJM “exist[s] within the Christian community and [attempts] to rekindle the social engagement of evangelical Christians.”

I want to clarify this a little bit. I believe that causes to social ends can and usually should be supported regardless of their affiliation. There are perfectly great organizations that do great work. However, as a Christian, I must admit I am partial to supporting folks who have the same framework for social action as I.

I believe that a Gospel-centered Christian framework leads to social action

Christians believe that all of us are sinners and slaves. This applies to us in a moral and a physical sense. We’re deeply broken (far from inherently good). We’re chained to sin. We’re chained to materialism. We’re chained in forced prostitution. We’re chained in abusive relationships. We’re chained in oppressive social structures.

Jesus suffered, and can thus identify with the suffering. He was poor and homeless. Jesus was mocked and suffered an excruciating death. Jesus was “wounded,” “crushed,” “afflicted,” “oppressed”.

God is about justice. There’s a passage in the Gospels that tell of Jesus proclaiming the beginning of his ministry as he enters the temple and reads from the Scriptures:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…” Isaiah 61:1-3 (ESV)

God’s heart (and by extension, Jesus’) is right there with the “poor,” the “brokenhearted,” the “captives”!

Jesus claimed to be God himself, accomplishing God’s mission on earth: salvation and redemption (whether that is a ridiculous claim or not is a separate and interesting discussion!). That’s the point of the Gospel itself: that there is a new order. The Kingdom of God is rapidly advancing and it means Good News to sinners & slaves.

I know I’m in theological deep waters here and there are a lot of things left untouched and unspoken. Feel free to question me or ask for elaboration on anything and we can start a conversation.

Personally, experiencing Grace lends me to action

My friend once told me her experience working with social justice causes on the Berkeley campus, noting how many activists work out of bitterness or anger, letting entitlement or hurt be their motivation to act on social change. Some activists work out of a rosy desire to change the world, believing in the power of the human spirit.

In the end, she noted, it can be tiring and frustrating because these actions lead to a focus on the self, sapping energy from the self and allowing results to dictate one’s effectiveness and worth.

I believe that Christian activists are different. Christians believe that God activates social movements. When Christians see God’s ultimate plan for restorative peace and justice — Heaven on earth, no less, they get excited.

(Of course, there are criticisms of faith-based initiatives. I encourage you to read “Jails for Jesus,” a Mother Jones article spotlighting the effects of a faith-based program in a Kansas prison.)

I’m just getting started. I’ve got to be honest with you: six months ago, I barely cared. It’s easy to get caught up in yourself and the small minutae of your life.

A little while ago, I got thinking of the Big Picture of my life. If my faith in Jesus is well-founded, then my belief of what the Kingdom of God looks like needs to expand. Jesus’ death and resurrection means Grace and forgiveness for me, and freely given to every living being on the planet, captive or free.

What does Grace look like to a woman kept under sickly terror by her pimp?

What will justice be to a American executive who visits the driving range three times a week?

The answer to both questions is one and the same. The ultimate Judge who promises Justice came to earth to redeem the past, present and future. And in reflection of Jesus’ revolutionary life, death and resurrection and the new framework of Redemption, I feel ever more the freedom (and the driving impulse) to act.

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