While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
There is this idea that you have to wait for some sort of calling from God. This is what I have found: There is no call. You see and need, and you meet it. That is the will of God.
Think about that one person you care most about in this whole world. They are probably your spouse, your sibling, your child, or your best friend. Now imagine that person lying in mud, clothed in rags, and begging for food and clean water. They have 30 days before they die from the life threatening disease they contracted from being sexually trafficked around the world. Yeah, it's unimaginable. That person you love so much would never fall victim to a fate so terrible. Because the y have you to protect them... They have family and friends and people who love them.
Don't worry, I'm not about to whine about the millions of people in Africa starving because they don't have people to love them. I'm going to do one better... I'm going to question why YOU don't love them. Or rather, why WE don't love them. See, whether we like it or not, God loves that person you care about so much, just as much as he loves the starving people in Africa.
Jesus talked about how we are all brothers and sisters. Christ was not telling us this to be cute, or to paint us a picture of a perfect world where everyone is holding hands singing "This land is your land, this land is my land." Christ was telling us that we are called to care for EVERYONE as much as we care for that one special person. To not do everything in our ability to help those in need, is to allow your special person to suffer the same fate I talked about earlier. At least, that's what Christ was telling us. Why is your sibling or child any better than those dying around the world? Am I being a little judgmental? YES, of course I am! I'm being completely ridiculous. I just accused you of condemning your loved ones to a hell on earth... I know I'm being a little insensitive and harsh... Well, get over it. Whether or not I'm being harsh, there are still millions of people dying every month, and there are still millions of people all over the country who have more than enough, that aren't doing a thing about it. If you feel attacked, and that I"m being a total jerk, and all your going to do is get mad at me, and then go about your daily business, than why don't you just stop reading, skip being mad at me, and go about your daily business. But for those of you that realize I'm right... Well, why don't we do something about this.
I can't do everything. But I can do something. And so I will do something.
Here's what I needed to realize to be personally effected by this. I needed to focus on my fiance. The person I love more than anything. And than I needed to really imagine her suffering. I than needed to realize that Christ calls me to treat EVERYONE as if they were my REAL brother or sister. That I needed to see a starving child in Africa as if I was looking at my fiance. After spending a few hours actually thinking about this, I was able to grasp the concept of my fiance in total poverty, begging for her very life. I could imagine her, not on a traveling ministry team, in comfort with friends, but being trafficked around the world, bought and sold like a bag of groceries. Do you know how effective it is to think of the one you love the most being sexually abused? Maybe this makes me a little sick and twisted, but it's what it took to make me realize how much I need to care about those that really ARE being bought and sold, those that don't have food and water, those that don't are dying of diseases... I can now see everyone in this world as my brother and sister... And NOW I want to do something about it. It makes me sick (and I mean that literally) to think about Cady in the ways I did... But I know she is safe. The thing is, millions of my brothers and sisters around the world are not safe. They are not able to attain life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I don't know what I want to do yet, but I know I want to do something. I HAVE to do something. People... your brothers, sisters, loved ones... They are being sexually abused, trafficked, bought and sold. They have no food, and no clean water. They are dying from diseases. And no one cares.
What are you going to do about it?
