Clay Carson's Blog
How did we miss it? / 03.18.09, 03:50 PM
I grew up all my life in the church, studying the Bible, singing the songs, and every week hearing a sermon that just made me feel good about myself when I left. I’m sure you have had many experiences like this too. I would attend church on Sundays, stay out of trouble during the week, and felt like I was a “good Christian”. Looking back now, it amazes me how ignorant I was, how ignorant the church was, of what God wanted of us. I can hardly recall a sermon or a sunday school lesson that challenged me to sacrifice, to go out of my way for a stranger. And i definitely don’t remember ever learning how important the poor are to God. I didn’t even know the poor existed in God’s world, and I sometimes doubt if my church ever did either. But recently I’ve been delving into the issues of poverty, homelessness, racism, and social justice and my eyes have been opened to the darkness of the world around me. Confronted by the hopelessness that surrounds the issues, my heart was burdened. I didn’t understand how we got to this point, how our country could still have the issues, how our church could be so blind to it. My heart was heavy, and so I sought to find out what God had to say about it, about poverty, about the minority groups, about immigrants, about the homeless, and about justice. In searching I’ve found hundreds of verses in which God talks about taking care of the poor, loving the foreigner and treating every human being, regardless of race or class, with respect. But I believe I’ve found one that really hits the nail on the head, that expresses God’s desire for us as Christians to show His love to the poor, to fight for justice.
In Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV it says “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
or in the Message it so simply puts it “Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and the destitute!”
How did we miss it? I believe it is time that we as Christians, as members of the church, begin to really examine what this verse means for us, not only as a group, but as individuals. I pray that God would bring justice, that He would open our eyes to the needs of those all around us, and the He would fill our hearts with a passion for justice, for equality, and for the love of all His people. Amen.
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Amen and Amen! Speak it, son – live it!\
By Kelli Carson / Mar 18, 10:31 PM / #
that is so true!
By Katrina / Mar 20, 05:34 PM / #