Here's a message about my journey towards IJM and an understanding of social justice, which I shared yesterday at The Vine of Greater Orlando:
The last thing I would like to say is this – There
are nearly 30 million men, women, and children trapped in slavery right now, more than
any other time in history. That is a
deep, deep tragedy, and we are sent by Jesus as He was sent to bring good news
to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to proclaim liberty to the
captive. But an even deeper tragedy is
that every single person who does not know Christ is a slave to sin, and that
number far exceeds 30 million. Jesus
sent us not only to bring freedom to the physical captive, but to every
captive. And that starts right here – with the captive driving the car behind
you on the way home, the captive serving you lunch, the captive in
the cubicle next to you or the house next to you. We hear of horrific injustice in the world and we desire to do something about it, and we should do something about it, but justice must start in our own hearts, our own homes, our own communities. So let us press into the Lord, and proclaim
His mercy and justice to the world. And
may we see “justice flow like water, and
righteousness like an unfailing stream” (Amos 5:24).
My journey with International Justice Mission actually begins in Sri Lanka of all places. I went to Sri Lanka in 2009 on a mission trip
with Northland to serve at a summer camp for orphans. Honestly, I went to Sri Lanka to escape more
so than to serve. I was into my second
year of college and tired of trying to figure out who I was and what I was
supposed to do with my life, and I really just wanted to get away and
experience something new and take my focus off myself for a while. Well,
in Sri Lanka, I met a team from Ukraine who leads an orphan ministry in Ukraine
called Hope for Orphans. I completely
fell in love with the Ukrainian team and so every summer since then, I have
spent quite a bit of time serving with Hope for Orphans, and it was through
these experiences that I began to understand the horror and reality of sex
trafficking.
Sex trafficking is a deeply
rooted problem in Ukraine, especially for Ukrainian orphans because they are
vulnerable and unprotected. There are approximately 200,000 children residing in orphanages in Ukraine, and they are
viewed as a burden on society. Sometimes orphanage directors actually inform traffickers when children
are going to age out of the orphanage, (orphans are usually forced out of their
orphanage at age 16) and the traffickers pick up girls directly from the
orphanage. This is easily done because
few people know or care about what happens to these children.
In Ukraine last summer, this
reality hit me in a very personal way.
At an orphan camp in the Carpathian mountains, I met a 13yr old girl
named Sveta. We met on the very first
day of camp. I was attempting to
practice speaking Russian, and she was doing a much better job practicing speaking English. We soon became good friends. One day, she showed me a few small things she
owned that were very valuable to her.
One of these things was a photograph of a little girl about 7 years old
with short, straight brown hair. Sveta
told me the little girl in the picture was her best friend, Masha. Sveta explained to me that a few years ago, a
man came to the orphanage and told Masha she was beautiful. Masha was afraid of the man and said he was
crazy. The man took Masha, four other
girls, and one boy, and Sveta hasn’t seen Masha since.
Now, I don’t know what happened to Masha, and I don’t want to assume she was picked up by a trafficker, because I don't know that. But, being face-to-face with the mere possibility of that and knowing that is the reality for so many little girls completely wrecked my
heart. I had to do something about
it. God gave me the great privilege of
meeting Sveta and dozens of other children who He cherishes and grieves for and
wants to use us to save and restore.
But it’s not just in Ukraine that people are exploited, this happens all over the
world and even in our own back yards. As
God motivated me to seek out ways I could defend the orphan, He opened my heart
to injustice all over the world and led me to International Justice
Mission. This summer, a friend of mine
who went to Sri Lanka and Ukraine with me told me her sister works with IJM UK
and they were looking for interns, so I applied and was accepted at the end of
July.
IJM seeks to rescue
thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice for the poor is
possible. They do this through a
four-fold purpose of: victim relief,
perpetrator accountability, victim aftercare, and structural transformation/abuse
prevention. This is all accomplished through casework, education, and
mobilization.
As a business operations
intern in the London office, my focus will be education and mobilization-
educating communities in the UK and abroad about oppression, and mobilizing
churches to seek justice. I will
maintain donor correspondence- write thank you letters and updates from the
field offices, conduct research, collect and organize data, organize awareness and training events, represent IJM at conferences, and anything
else that is needed in the office. It’s
a small office- there are only 4 interns and 12 staff- so I will keep very busy
and involved.
Since IJM is a nonprofit
organization, my internship is a voluntary position. The Lord has shown me a need,
given me a passion, and through this internship with International Justice
Mission, He has provided a specific way He can use us to do something about it.
Social justice is a very
popular movement in society today, and that’s a good thing, but, as I’ve
learned the hard way, it can also be a very dangerous thing if our motivation
isn’t the Lord. Scripture is flooded
with verses that speak of God’s passion for justice, the whole book of Isaiah
speaks of the justice and righteousness of the Lord, but I want to bring to the surface Isaiah 26:10 which says, “If favor is
shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of
uprightness he deals corruptly and does
not see the majesty of the Lord.”
Justice ultimately matters because through it we
see the majesty of the Lord. People
matter and deserve dignity because they bear the image of God. God is just. We are not.
Our understanding and pursuit of justice must be rooted in Him.
Last summer in Ukraine, I met
many orphans with horrific stories, and I began to doubt God’s goodness. I could not understand how God could be
sovereign and loving and yet let these children continue to suffer. God was breaking my heart for what breaks His,
but instead of leaning into Him and recognizing that, I became bitter and
angry. I allowed my weak understanding of
justice to overshadow my knowledge of the Lord.
Gradually, God showed me that any empathy or love I had for these kids
came from Him, and any small sense of justice I had gained was a gift from
Him. When we engage the deep suffering
of the world, we must engage an even deeper knowledge of God’s goodness.
It is a good thing for us to
pursue justice. The Lord spoke through
the prophet Micah that we are to “do
justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.” But I’ve realized we cannot do justice unless
we love mercy- because who are we to judge?
We are not blameless, and it is only by the grace of God that we have
any love or understanding of justice- and we cannot do justice or love mercy if
we are not walking humbly with the God of justice and mercy. It all comes down to Him.
