The Church has always been called to speak righteousness and justice into the culture. Among other things that means standing with the victims. The Social Justice Tradition or the Compassion Filled Life demands that God’s saving power is not only for the next life but is also to be realized in the here and now. It is the stream from which flowed John Wesley’s Methodist social work with the poor, the ending of the English slave trade through the efforts of William Wilberforce, the American Abolitionists movement, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s resistant to German Anti-Jewish policies. The Social Justice tradition asks the question; “Where is the Church of today called to say: ‘WE WILL NOT LET THAT STAND!”?
“But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.” Amos 5:24
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Matthew 5:6
>>Hungering to be involved in bringing God’s righteousness to the world? Then check out the links below.
Eternal Threads– End Human Trafficking
Wellspring International -Help to women and children (widows and orphans)
Courage Worldwide -Homes for children rescued out of sex trafficking
Project AK47 and InvisibleChildren – Stop the use of children as soldiers
Fair Trade USA – Where does our food come from and who suffers?
Bleeding Kansas Advocates– Help end the suffering
Clergy for a New Drug Policy – Let justice flow down like water
And so many many more local, across America, and around the world.
Recommended Readings:
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The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder
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Uncle Sam’s Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America’s Poor and What We Can Do About It by Star Parker
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When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
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The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
Consider studying the lives of John Wesley and William Wilberforce. Look also into the history of Church revivals and their impact on social reform.
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