Hungry for Justice

I am forever changed.

I went to a Leadership Summit conference this past weekend
put on by the Willow Creek Association at one of the local churches here in Port Elizabeth.

There were multiple speakers, mostly from the US, but others included a gentleman from Uganda, the
former British Prime Minister, and even Bono!

Before it started on Friday morning, I was looking through
the books for sale and I came across a book called On the Move written by Bono, which is actually his speech to the
White House. I only flipped through a few pages and I felt like I was punched
in the stomach. An old passion of mine rose to the surface and overwhelmed me.
I had forgotten my love for the poor.
I’ve been so busy working with the “upper” class white South Africans that I’d
forgotten a crucial part of my DNA –
my desire to work with the poor, brokenhearted, and defenseless. I immediately
bought the book.

“…The one thing, on which we can all agree, among all faiths
and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and the poor. God is in the
slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence
of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their
lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris
of wasted opportunity and lives, and God
is with us if we are with them.” (Bono, 16-18)

My heart is broken as I sit here, but yet I am extremely inspired.
I so badly want to do something of significance.
I envision myself living among the poor, giving
them life and value, kissing malnourished babies. My heart literally aches
to be among them. I won’t rest until I am.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed
me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted…
Isaiah 61:1. If you have one of my prayer cards, this verse is printed on it.
It is a truly significant “life and ministry” verse for me. With this desire I
have, comes an anointing.

GOD IS WITH THE POOR.
This is where His heart resides. He is hungry for justice. Did you know that
there are 2,100 references to the poor in Scripture? And what about the
righteous anger that Jesus feels towards those who do not care for the poor and
the distressed, and especially the defenseless.
Who will care for them if they cannot care for themselves? Spend yourself on behalf of the hungry. Isaiah 58:10

There is one girl named Jessica Jackley that I want to brag
on. She is one person with a vision that made a significant impact on the
world. She created an organization called Kiva.
Kiva gives micro loans to entrepreneurs all around the world. To a mother selling
flowers, to a farmer selling goats. Any
average Joe can give a micro loan starting at only $25, and the
entrepreneurs pay it back little by little as their business grows. One hundred percent of the loan goes to that man
or woman. And Jessica isn’t even yet 30. Jessica and a few of her friends
started off with $3000 and 7 up and coming entrepreneurs in East
Africa. Today, just four years later, they have a very successful
website that is lending 5 million a month
to entrepreneurs in 186 countries, including the United States! If you are
interested, go to kiva.org. One
person really can affect change.

One day, I hope this will be said of me. But I don’t want
any credit, or any fame. I only want to know that I impacted lives because of
the heart and passion and genuine love God has entrusted to
me.