Injustice Shuts Its Mouth.

I attended a gala last week. When I first heard it was a gala, I thought, how lovely! I'd been reading a lot of old English literature and I pictured a Pride and Prejudice type event. I invited my friend Tara and we planned to attend.

We arrived at Castle McCullough after a full day of work and enjoyed the sites and sounds as we bid on silent auction items (Tara won a painting) and listened to musicians. The program was a fundraiser for World Relief and to increase efforts to fight human trafficking. I honestly can't remember how I first found out about this event, I've just been telling people I follow a lot of "this kind of stuff" on twitter and like it on Facebook. The "kind of stuff" I am referring to are social justice issues and causes I care about.

The tone of the evening was hard to describe. But here is my attempt.

Maybe intense? - A survivor of trafficking courageously shared her story including more than a decade of forced prostitution, coercion by her pimp and drug addiction. I think everyone had tears in their eyes.

Maybe  inspiring? - We heard Spoken Word and a lament which point us back to God's faithfulness and love for His people.

Maybe hopeful? - The CEO of World Relief, Stephan Bauman shared his vision for a world free from slavery and reminded us of Wilberforce and the things we've accomplished thus far. 

Maybe igniting? - I spent a couple hours in a room full of people who care about making a difference in our world today. I ended up at a table with the former president and a regional director of World Relief. I signed up for a taskforce and found this other event I may attend soon. 

I've shared with several friends that one day I'd like to run or create a nonprofit and thus far have been looking for those clues God has so graciously revealed over the past several years. I think this even was perhaps a clue. I'm excited for this catalyst and want to keep seeking God's face for what He may be leading me toward. 

Stephan Bauman shared Job 5:16 as part of his vision and as our call to action. Let us pursue God and his love for all people so that injustice shuts its mouth!

According to the UNODC, Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. If you're wondering what World Relief (in High Point NC) does, check out Human Trafficking Advocacy

And to end things well, check out one of the performances Micah Bournes did at the event:

Chemistry Lesson

Remember chemistry class? Ok this "lesson" is probably from 5th grade science because it's pretty basic, but I recently remembered the differences between a physical reaction and a chemical reaction.

Water changes to ice with a temperature change. The state of the H20 changed. We give it a new name, but it's molecules are still H20.

Creating compost on the other hand is a change in the chemical makeup of the substances. No longer are old veggies sitting in a pot. Instead something has occurred and rich soil can help other things grow. That transformation creates something wholly new. Something that can't return to it's other state. Rich soil can't reverse into an old banana peel. It's not possible.

Recently while sitting outside a Panera on a beautiful afternoon, I was thinking about science class and my faith as I picked at my Thai Chopped Chicken Salad. As I was reading the Good and Beautiful God for my small group, I realized I live my life like a physical reaction more often than a chemical one. But this is wrong thinking. We are transformed when we accept Christ as savior into something wholly different and fundamentally more ourselves than before.

I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:9-20). 

Christ dwells in His believers and this transforms us into a new creation. The old is gone the new has come. Now I just need to learn to live this way. I'm not just an altered state. I'm living in the truth. I'm not just drinking the KoolAid that is offered in a supportive and loving church body, or good music and a positive outlook. I'm wholly changed and get to live the rest of my life in the process of sanctification to be more of me. To be the way I was made.

Such cute kids performing Chris Tomlin's Way I was Made. Oh that Chris Tomlin!