The Hole in our Gospel

Many of you that know me know that international development, human rights, disaster response, and seeking justice are huge passions of mine. I am currently reading a wonderful book by the current President of World Vision International, Rich Stearns. In his book Rich offers clear and challenging reasons why we as followers of Jesus Christ are obligated to demonstrate his love in tangible ways that don't just include preaching.

From Rich:

"I believe Luke chapter 4 [16-21]tells us what the gospel was all about--Jesus coming to preach the good news to the poor, but also that we, his followers, would then be good news to the poor. I think many of us in America have understood the gospel to be only about preaching. This limited view gives us only half a gospel--a gospel with a hole in it--that it lacks the power to transform the world, as God called us to do. The "whole gospel" proclaims not just forgiveness found in Christ, but also the command to care for and stand up for justice.

...

"We are in a very special time in history. 9/11 was the wake-up call that the world is connected, and we can't turn our backs on the things that are happening in Africa or the Middle East or Asia. We can no longer say we're not aware of AIDS or disasters. And for the first time in history, we have the tools to do something about these problems. This could be the church's finest hour, the moment we say, "This is what the Christ we worship is all about. He's about caring for the poor, lifting up the downtrodden. This is what he stood for, and this is what we stand for.'"

Adapted from:

From the Presidents Pen, p. 6, World Vision News, Spring 2009, Volume 12 Number 2