No. 26: International Justice Mission

Okay, let's be serious for a sec. Millions--tens of millions--of people around the world are victims of "injustice." Not injustice like getting passed up for a promotion or getting cut off in traffic--that's more the trivially unfair. "Injustice" is a sin. An act of violence, oppression, or abuse of power by those who have the upper hand. Injustice is what happens when innocent people are denied justice, and God is not a fan.

Gary Haugen, who founded IJM in 1997, came and spoke at Fellowship Bible Church this morning. He talked about how he first discovered God's passion for justice in 1994, when he was the chief prosecutor of those who led the Rwandan genocide. His question to Fellowship was this: "Are Jesus and I really interested in the same things?" It's easy to know what you're interested in...you. Maybe family and friends, people you like. But God is interested in the whole world, and He is passionate about His world and justice in it. Gary Haugen told stories of children in slavery....how can they believe that God is good? If we look in the Bible the answer is clear: We show them. Matthew 5:14 says, "You are the light of the world" [emphasis mine]. The thing is, these people who are suffering and oppressed won't believe that God is good unless we show them how good He is, which has been God's plan all along.

All that to say, IJM works around the world to secure justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression. (I stole that straight from the website.) After listening to Gary Haugen talk about what they do, I got his book, Good News about Injustice, to read here before I go back to school, and I'm currently looking into the possibility of an internship in their DC office in a year or two. I'm not passionate about much, but this is something I feel God has really laid on my heart, so please pray that I'll continue searching, learning, and getting involved.

~Hayley


If you want to learn more about International Justice Mission or get involved yourself, check out their website, Twitter, or Facebook.