These stories confirm two things: First, God can use ordinary kids to bring about deep justice in a broken world. Second, God often works through us as adults to do it.
Footnotes
1. “What Americans and Europeans Spend on Ice Cream,” (World-watch Institute, “State of the World 2004”)http://www.worldwild-life.org/news/displayPR.cfm?prID=122, World Wildlife Fund, 2004.2. “Aid for the 21st Century,” Chapter 3 of Human Development Report 2005 (New York: United Nations Development Programme, 2005) available at http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/HDR05_chapter_3.pdf Advertisement
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger
(Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 179.7. Tony Campolo, “Reflections on Youth Ministry in a Global Context,” Starting Right
, ed. K. C. Dean, C. Clark, and D. Rahn (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 92.
Not-So-Deep Service vs. Deep Justice* Service makes us feel like a “great savior” who rescues the broken.
Justice means God does the rescuing, but often He works through the united power of His great and diverse community to do it.* Service often dehumanizes (even if only subtly) those who are labeled the “receivers.”Justice restores human dignity by creating an environment in which all involved “give” and “receive” in a spirit of reciprocal learning and mutual ministry.* Service is something we do FOR others.Justice is something we do WITH others.* Service is an event.Justice is a lifestyle.* Service expects results immediately.Justice hopes for results sometime soon but recognizes that systemic change takes time.* The goal of service is to help others.The goal of justice is to remove obstacles so others can help themselves.* Service focuses on what our own ministry can accomplish.Justice focuses on how we can work with other ministries to accomplish even more.* Service is serving food at the local homeless shelter.Justice means asking why people are hungry and homeless in the first place and then doing something about it.