I’m thinking about Bonhoeffer and the dilemma I described last time.
You and I know turning away and staying silent aren’t options. What do we do? How do we stand up? After some contemplation, I wonder if our response might be found in these three statements.
“Jesus said, ‘Follow me.‘ He never said fight back or stand strong or give $20. His command was simply to follow Him.” (Dick Foth)
“The essence of following Jesus can be found in living out The Sermon on the Mount.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
“God isn’t worried.” (Dary Northrop)
I thought about why we choose to partner with Project Rescue. Why do we support one small group of kids halfway around the world?
Project Rescue works in some of the nastiest places you can imagine. They provide medical care and counseling and childcare. They do Bible study and offer vocational training. These are all important, but what matters is that they happen in the context of creating no-strings-attached relationships. With victims. With law enforcement. With traffickers themselves.
Relationship is the point.
To me, that sounds a lot like how Jesus would do it. It sounds like “love your enemy” and “don’t judge” and lots of other totally impractical notions. It sounds like seeking Jesus among “the least of these.”
And working in these sorts of places, day after day after day, seeking to change one life in the midst of chaos and horror – that sounds like believing God isn’t worried.
At this point, I’ll add one more essential statement for myself.
In the kingdom, there are no shortcuts or loopholes.
It wasn’t Love your neighbor… except for THAT guy.
And I have no idea how that works.
Next: What I think gets in the way.