Driving Faster in My Car, Falling Farther From Just What We Are

Today at IJM Chapel, Joey and I had the opportunity to share some of experiences from the conference at Pepperdine last weekend. I really enjoyed what Joey had to say about this feeling of restlessness that comes when you hear or read about human rights abuses or societal injustice. Sometimes the admonition just to pray seems awfully hollow in the face of such darkness. Joey and I have joked around about creating the Vigilante Justice Wing of IJM (along with Sister Mary Ellen Burns, Doug Holladay, and Walter Fauntroy) just so we can get out of some of our anger about this stuff. It seems much more fulfilling that we should be like the Boondock Saints, and go around dealing out justice to some of the people who commit these atrocities, but I think that there are more constructive ways of bringing about "shalom" for all peoples.

One vital way is to recognize the inherent dignity of all people that you meet. If you look at each person and remember that they are a carrier of the divine spark, you will treat them with a certain amount of respect, even if you do not agree with all of their views or opinions. Too many times, we choose to categorize or marginalize people based on our own little code, and we forget to connect with them on a basic level simply becuase of our shared humanity.

The second way is to realize that it is not our job to save the world. Do I say this to say that we do not need to make a difference in people's lives? No, I am just saying that since we live in a fallen world, there will always be pain, disappointment, and fear until Christ returns. We are fighting a guerrilla war for God. One day he will come along, and he will turn on the lights to obliterate the darkness and decay of this earth, and he will set all of the scales even, but until then we are to be witnesses and carriers of light in a dark world. We are to take our lights into the darkest places to show that the smallest amount of light can illuminate and pierce the darkness. We cannot get caught up in the fact that we cannot eliminate all of the injustice in the world, and allow that to stop our mission. What we can do is make a difference in the lives of individuals. On our refrigerator at home there is a quote from Emerson where he says"To know that one life has breathed easier as a result of yours....this is the meaning of success." When we can step past the numbers and stats, and start to see God's work on this earth in terms of names, faces, and stories then we will begin to see the power of God's work through us.