I was a junior in high school when the Rwandan Genocide occurred in 1994. It’s estimated that nearly 1 million Tutsis and Hutus were massacred by extremist Hutu militia groups. The world was stunned at such horrifying savagery; men, women & children alike were brutally slaughtered by the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi in a 100-day bloodbath. Even now, 12 years later, the images of this nightmare are a haunting reminder of the violence, hatred and racial prejudice that has marred much of human history.
I can’t recall anyone ever talking to me about any of this when it was happening. I don’t remember any of my teachers referencing this genocide in class. I can’t remember any minister praying about this in church. I’m certainly not saying these events weren’t important to my teachers and ministers; I’m sure that many of them did in fact encourage us to think and pray about this terrible situation. But, for whatever reason, those events that were happening half a world away never became faith issues for me. It never occurred to me that a Christian ought to be thinking about and praying about such things.
You see, I had a very narrow worldview at that time and, consequently, a narrow understanding of faith. My faith was limited to my small sphere of existence: school, sports, friends, youth group — these were the things that occupied most of my thoughts. Not that there’s anything wrong with those things in and of themselves. But my faith life was devoid of any prophetic voice calling me to be a spiritual force in the global landscape. I thought it was enough for me that I led prayer at the Monday night Bible study and I didn’t do drugs. As long as I was doing that, what did it matter to me what was going on in Rwanda or anywhere else in the world?
During my first year of teaching at Madison Academy, I went through a section on global justice with my students. Earlier that year, I’d read the account of the Rwandan genocide and a realization occurred: I had been spiritually unaware of the greatest global injustice of my lifetime. Until that time, I probably would’ve identified September 11th as the greatest injustice I’d ever witnessed. And while the September 11th attacks no doubt represent an egregious act of terror, I needed a little perspective to help me understand Rwanda. Approximately 3000 people died in the September 11th attacks; 300 times as many people died during the Rwandan genocide. Because of my ignorance of the situation, my voice never joined the prayers of countless others in those days of confusion and pain. I never sent the first dime to assist the families of those who were slaughtered. Slowly, I began to understand my need to become a person of global faith & prayer. God quickly opened my eyes to the stark reality of the world we live in.
I wish I could say that today I have the kind of global faith I desire, but that wouldn’t be true. But I have learned that there is much we need to be praying about and we cannot properly pray if we are not properly informed. At the global level, children are being orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Africa at a mind-boggling rate. Each year, 1 million children are forced into a life of child prostitution around the globe. That’s 1 million new children each year. (For more information about the global commercial sex trade and what you can do to help put a stop to it, click here to visit World Vision’s website.) In parts of the world, people are dying every day due to a lack of clean drinking water. Ministries like Blood: Water Mission are committed to building wells to empower communities to take control of their own development. Local churches continue to sponsor missionaries around the globe, men and women who commit themselves to becoming one with their host communities for the sake of living the Gospel authentically in these missional contexts. We must join our voices together in prayer for these, the least of our brothers & the ones serving among us. Such is the substance of global prayer.
Faith should also lead to activism in our churches and our communities. We needn’t look very far to find the poor in our communities. I’ve led groups of teenagers on mission trips to Mexico, yet I rarely offer these same teens the opportunity to feed the poor in downtown Huntsville. Global faith and action begins at home. Opportunities abound at the Huntsville Inner City. (This is a work my friend Jon is extremely passionate about. Click here to read his blog and find out how you can get involved. And Larry James’ Urban Daily is another blog devoted to raising awareness of low-income families in the inner cities of the United States.) Soup kitchens always welcome volunteers. Local missions thrive on the volunteer service of others. Jesus said a cup of water given in His name would be rewarded.
What are we — the church — doing today to bring hope and life to the global community? How are you being salt and light in your local community?
If not us, who?
If not now, when?
already & not yet 