Ms Robyn Robertson, 19/02/2012
We have 7 billion people in Oct 2011. Every 2.5 seconds, a new life entered the earth. Many do not have enough to live on.
It’s important to make poverty personal to us, to ourselves into the shoes of others.
The Millennium Development Plan, the goal is to halve poverty by 2015. There are positive developments.
Books: The Bottom Billion, The End of Poverty, Getting Better.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the hypes. But Jesus reminded us in John 12:8 that we will always have the poor among us.
Compare the Emergency Department and the ward of those waiting to die. In the former, people gather to try to make a difference, to save lives. It’s intense.
We need to understand justice
In the original pattern, God the Creator created man, to fll and subdue the earth, build the human family and to rue over the earth under the premise that they have a correct relationship with God. God equipped man with the stucture of righteousness, character and knowledge.
When the serpent came, the man is corrupted. The structural image is either totally destroyed or so thoroughly damaged that it is virtually unrcognizable.
The lies attack the love of God, man wondered why he should not eat from the tree. It encourages false ambition.
Man then exploited, reproduce and took dominion of the earth.
The enemy attacks the relationship first, destroying God’s rule.
Mission not accomplished
We will end up in the care wing if we don’t bring Jesus into the picture.
Justice delayed is not justice denied.
Eternity is real. It asks us the question – who is in charge? Read Exodus. Pharaoh did not recognize Yahweh. Everytime when power is abused and the powerful takes advantage of the powerless, God is on the side of the powerless.
Investment in the temporal is important. Refer to Micah 6:8. Without God, we get a disapropriate sense of importance of what we do. When we get results, we must be clear who we should give the glory to. We get tired of doing this work. We cannot continue if we are not doing it together with Him.
Every Christian s called to serve Christ’s mission. Luk 4:18,19. We need an attitude shift. We need to get out of the care wing and get into the emergency ward. Knowledge is easier than action.
Robyn played a clip called “the Ordinary”, depicting a toiler cleaning lady who got no appreciation until a lady gave her a cup of drink with a thank you note.
Robyn was once caught in a situation where she had to choose between rushing to serve the poor and serving the poor there an then. She was convicted. Read Mt 25. She was late catching a train. One of the three homeless that she met regularly approached her, offered her tea and asked her to sing hymn with him. They sand As I Survey the Wondrous Cross together.
We have to wait for God’s Spirit to fill us. There is a difference between God with us and God in us. When God is in us, things happens. Our hearts break by the things that break his. Read Mk 1:15. When Christ in us, we want to challenge the world – who’s in charge?
To fight for just distribution of resources and regress poverty, we need God.
Robyn played a video by the Opportunity International Netwok.
Retributuve Justice vs. Distributive Justice.
Are we bold enough to love? Are we bold enough to serve? Are we humble enough to serve? Are we strong enough to now and acknowledge our limitations? Are we brave enough to pursue what we are called to focus on, rather than try to jffle more anr more and in the end risk everything?
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