Simplicity, Missional

Char and I spent a good part of yesterday sitting on the lovely little beach in our hometown of Pewaukee.  It was great.  The sun was warm, the breeze was perfect, friends stopped by to chat as we sat and rested and read the afternoon away. I am finishing the Foster book on Simplicity so I can get back to the Dallas Willard book I have been enjoying so much.

One of the things I read yesterday that I found completely compelling was this.

“In considering simplicity we need to remember that another way in which simplicity takes outward shape is through conscious identification with the poor and forgotten.  Jesus did this repeatedly, and so must we.  The exact expression of our identification will have infinite variety, but there is no doubt that we ought to engage in this loving work.  Many of us need to champion the cause of the oppressed, witness to their misery, and call for justice. We are to plead their cause before the powerful. The Christian is to be the voice of the voiceless, the face of the faceless, before authorities. But a warning is needed here. The Christian must advocate the cause of those who are truly poor and forgotten. So often it seems as if Christians have a particular knack for joining causes that are nearly over and championing issues that have thousands of champions.  We must go beyond newspaper accounts (in fact newspapers are usually a hindrance in this work) to find the genuinely dispossessed. If we desire to identify with the poor we will be concerned to be informed, really informed. Ellul reminds us that Christians must be so concerned about human misery that they take pains to discover the really lost before it is too late.”

When I worked for World Vision and then for World Relief I used to feel very connected to the poor both domestically and internationally; since coming to the “Burbs” and being disconnected from direct interaction I have “allowed” myself to be out of touch with the poor and suffering.  I am praying that God will help me reconnect to that mission that is so very dear to His heart.