justice friday

This past week some good friends and Amy and I sat around tables, couches, pools, restaurants, and offices planning and praying about the Mission Adventures theme for 2009. I cannot reveal the theme currently or I will be shot and healed and shot again, but I can tell you that Jesus spoke very clearly that it should come out of Isaiah 61:1-3 which says “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

It seems as though we as a Mission Adventures network cannot escape the call of God on Christians to Do Justice, or as I like to say “Do Something.” One of the things that I hope for from this theme that is so influenced by God’s heart for justice is that we will not only be involved in social relief, which is serving others to meet their immediate need, but that we will be involved in social justice, identifying the underlying causes that precipitate those needs.

My hope and prayer in this is that we will see youth caring for the poor, visiting the sick, hanging with the homeless and digging deeper into the needs of their city or town to see total transformation and not just a quick fix.