When I was in High School and College I would spend my summers working at a summer camp named Circle C Ranch. At this camp the staff would often perform skits and other fun things for the campers enjoyment. One of them was a song that we would do. It started with the phrase “If I weren’t a counselor here at Circle C a __________ I would be.” We would fill the blank with many humorous options that were always sure to get some laughs from the students we were working with.
I have in recent years asked myself a similar question in regards to my life now. If I weren’t a pastor here at HBC a ___________ I would be. Well I have landed on two things. Option number 1 would be a comedian. I love making people laugh. I love seeing others take joy in life. There is also a craft in telling a good story and acquiring a desired outcome. In the case of a comedian the desired outcome is a laugh. Option 2 is a dramatic shift from option 1. It is something that is born out a deep seeded frustration in my heart that I find rising to the surface every year or two. It is something that angers me yet saddens me at the same time. It is something that makes me wonder why the church has remained so silent on very real issues.
If I went with option 2 a social activist I would be.
Not just any kind of social activist but I would be an abolitionist and at the fore front of fighting sex trafficking. Deep inside my heart I desire justice and repeatedly see things in our world that is far from just. Whenever I hear or see anything related to this topic the Holy Spirit pricks my heart. Few things in this world anger me more that the sexual exploitation of children. Few things fill me with fear more (as a father) than the statistics of sexually abused children. Knowledge that evil exists in the world in unimaginable forms should be a call to arms within the church of God.
Yet, sexual exploitation is certainly not a comfortable topic to dialogue about. I can guarantee that there are people who would skip church on the Sunday that this topic was discussed if they knew in advance what was coming. It is much easier to ignore evil than it is to face it head on. Yet, evil exists and it is continues to grow. In fact, there are more slaves in the world today than there ever has been in the history of the world. So much for a civilized world. The numbers are staggering. The numbers are frightening. The numbers should fill us with anger. The question is what is the church of God going to do in response to them?
My heart longs to bring hope to the hopeless. My heart longs to bring love to the unloved. My heart longs to bring healing to the wounded. My heart longs for justice.
I believe my Savior, the Great Physician, is waiting for His hospital workers to get to work and stop talking about the work. While they talk about their knowledge of the sick, the sick are dying.
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