Tonight, Sunday January 15, Spring Lake Wesleyan and the Justice Team showed 58: THE FILM, a movie about global poverty and what as Christ followers we are called to do about it based on the beginning verses of Isaiah 58.
Making a statement about how much God cares about the poor, the film pointed out that He had his only son, our savior and Lord, Jesus, born into poverty. God is calling all of us to minister to the poor.
58 showed poverty close up, the true human condition of poverty in a very real, relatable way. It was similar to going on my first mission trip and realizing that we are all the same, we are all the same in God’s eyes and we want the same things; safety, love, health and a better life for our children. When someone can’t provide these basic needs for themselves, let alone their children, fear, hopelessness and loss of joy rule the days and nights. Darkness takes over their lives. I think we can all understand from this that the Gospel needs to be spread with word AND deed.
Compassion International highlighted some promising statistics showing that the church is having an impact, people are making a difference one at a time, building relationships, spreading the Gospel and empowering the poor. The point is that there is progress, but much more needs to be done.
Jesus gives us all hope, strength and courage and it starts with stepping out of our comfort zones and doing something. Please join Christ followers everywhere and start by doing something, even if it is something small. Upgrade your life. See live58.org for ideas, join the Spring Lake Justice Team (contact Dave Horne) or move forward on what you feel God is calling you to do.
If we see someone oppressed and do nothing, we ourselves are oppressed.
Skip Westmaas
It was encouraging to see such a diverse group from the church come out and want to make a difference.