"The Cries of the Victims are Deafening" - A look at modern Central America through the lens of Biblical justice
My wife recently bought me a new Bible as a birthday gift. As I typically do with a new Bible, I've started reading through from start to finish once again. It's not taken but a few days for the Lord to spark my heart with questions, thoughts, and inquisition.
This morning I was reading about Abraham being visited by God just before He went down to Sodom. The thing about reading a new translation from what you're used to is that certain phrases jump out at you in ways you aren't expecting. When God decides to let Abraham in on His plans, He says, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening" and later, "The outcries of the victims to God are deafening" (18v20; 19v13).
Previous times that I've read this I've always read it that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is what led God to destroy it. While this isn't untrue, it wasn't the vileness of rampant sin that got God's attention; it was the cry of the victims. The more that I dwelt on this reality the more I realized how common this thread is throughout Scripture. Over and over again, victims cry out to God in their infliction and in the midst of injustice. God hears these cries and he acts on their behalf.
God is abundantly clear that He prioritizes the pitiful. He has a special place in His heart for the lost, the poor, the broken, and the oppressed. Our whole story is one of God's rescuing us from our helplessness. God's eyes roam the earth in pursuit of the afflicted. He has never been okay with allowing oppression and injustice to flourish, especially when the victims cry out to Him.
So what does this mean for us today?
Victims are still being victimized, the abused still cry out to the Father for help, injustice is still rampant around the world and here at home. As followers of Christ, we've been called to be His hands and feet in the world today. Surely that means that we must find the wide path that includes both grace and wisdom, but more than anything it means that we can't turn a blind eye to the outcry of the victims.
Some have chosen to highlight the economic reasons that migrants would make their way north in hopes of finding asylum in the United States. While poverty is crippling and often a symptom of injustice, for now it is healthy to keep in mind that poverty is not currently enough to grant refugee status here. This is a fringe point picked up by the media in hopes of painting the entire swath of hopefuls seeking refuge as simply wanting better jobs with better pay. This is not the full story.
Right now thousands of victims, many of whom know the Lord personally and intimately, have done everything that they can to stay alive. They have cried out to the Father for both spiritual and physical salvation, and they've put their lives on the line to travel north in hopes of avoiding certain death in their homeland. As sons and daughters of the Most High God, we have been rescued and made into rescuers. To turn our heads away from the cries of our southern brothers and sisters, to tune out the outcry of the victims, is unquestioningly a direct application of 1 John 4v20.
I ask you to join me today in praying for the men, women, children, families, grandparents, vulnerable, victims, needy, scared, and tenacious who are currently waiting south of the southern border while the US attempts to skirt and rewrite the law. Join me in raising your voice to speak up on their behalf. Join me in acknowledging the opportunity that the Father has brought to our doorstep.
This morning I was reading about Abraham being visited by God just before He went down to Sodom. The thing about reading a new translation from what you're used to is that certain phrases jump out at you in ways you aren't expecting. When God decides to let Abraham in on His plans, He says, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening" and later, "The outcries of the victims to God are deafening" (18v20; 19v13).
Previous times that I've read this I've always read it that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is what led God to destroy it. While this isn't untrue, it wasn't the vileness of rampant sin that got God's attention; it was the cry of the victims. The more that I dwelt on this reality the more I realized how common this thread is throughout Scripture. Over and over again, victims cry out to God in their infliction and in the midst of injustice. God hears these cries and he acts on their behalf.
God is abundantly clear that He prioritizes the pitiful. He has a special place in His heart for the lost, the poor, the broken, and the oppressed. Our whole story is one of God's rescuing us from our helplessness. God's eyes roam the earth in pursuit of the afflicted. He has never been okay with allowing oppression and injustice to flourish, especially when the victims cry out to Him.
So what does this mean for us today?
Victims are still being victimized, the abused still cry out to the Father for help, injustice is still rampant around the world and here at home. As followers of Christ, we've been called to be His hands and feet in the world today. Surely that means that we must find the wide path that includes both grace and wisdom, but more than anything it means that we can't turn a blind eye to the outcry of the victims.
Some have chosen to highlight the economic reasons that migrants would make their way north in hopes of finding asylum in the United States. While poverty is crippling and often a symptom of injustice, for now it is healthy to keep in mind that poverty is not currently enough to grant refugee status here. This is a fringe point picked up by the media in hopes of painting the entire swath of hopefuls seeking refuge as simply wanting better jobs with better pay. This is not the full story.
Right now thousands of victims, many of whom know the Lord personally and intimately, have done everything that they can to stay alive. They have cried out to the Father for both spiritual and physical salvation, and they've put their lives on the line to travel north in hopes of avoiding certain death in their homeland. As sons and daughters of the Most High God, we have been rescued and made into rescuers. To turn our heads away from the cries of our southern brothers and sisters, to tune out the outcry of the victims, is unquestioningly a direct application of 1 John 4v20.
I ask you to join me today in praying for the men, women, children, families, grandparents, vulnerable, victims, needy, scared, and tenacious who are currently waiting south of the southern border while the US attempts to skirt and rewrite the law. Join me in raising your voice to speak up on their behalf. Join me in acknowledging the opportunity that the Father has brought to our doorstep.
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