God is On the Move

Bono, the lead singer of U2, was asked to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast in February of 2006. His new book, On the Move, records the compelling insights he shared that day as well as his powerful call for Christians to rally around the hungry, hurt and suffering people of this world. The book also features exquisite, heartwrenching photos taken by Bono himself during his travels to Africa. In On the Move, Bono says this:

 

"The one thing on which we can all agree is that God is with the vulnerable and poor. God is in the slums and in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. 6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity; this is about justice and equality." 

 

In our own intercultural ministry and our missionary travels throughout Europe, my husband and I grew to understand more of Christ's heart for people and the intensely personal nature of His ministry. He poured Himself out as an offering to those around Him, drawing from a deep well of compassion for their hungers and their griefs. Instead of repelling people with judgment and condemnation, He drew them irresistibly, lovingly, to Himself. He always chose to meet people's physical needs FIRST; then, He addressed their spiritual needs.   

 

Why, then, do we expect to be able to answer people's spiritual questions and help them discover God when we ignore their hurts, their hungers, their needs and their desires?   

 

In the book of Matthew, Jesus illustrated the vital social nature of the gospel this way:  

 

"The King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'  

 

Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  

 

The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'" (Matthew 25:34-40) 

 

The truth is that the faith that unites us is SO much greater than the petty arguments that divide us. What can you and I do today to meet a physical need, and in so doing, to address a deeper spiritual need? Let's be "Jesus with skin on" to someone longing for forgiveness, hope, grace, and restoration.