the gospel and social justice
I think felt needs are so important. That's probably pretty clearly illustrated through the things I've chosen to invest my time and money in (like this, or this, or this). I don't say that to pat myself on the back, but I know that the Lord fills us with passion for different things, and I am definitely burdened for those who are hurting.Sometimes my desire to address the felt needs (whether that's in a tsunami-destroyed village in Thailand, or with a girl I'm discipling) seems to overshadow my desire to share the gospel. The phrase 'People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care' sat well with me.
Lots of people who are wiser and more godly than me have challenged me in this, and pushed me to understand that both are necessary: as followers of Jesus we have to be about meeting both the physical and the spiritual needs. Recently as I was reading Total Church, I found a great summary of this idea:
...it is never enough to address people's felt needs. Felt needs can be a good point to start because the gospel address the human condition in all its complexity. But people do not as a rule express God's judgement as a felt need. People are blind to their true plight. They do not see their greatest need, which is to be reconciled to God through the gospel. If we do not keep people's eternal plight in mind, then immediate needs will force their way to the top of our agenda, and we will betray the gospel and the people we profess to love. The most loving thing we can do for the poor is to proclaim the good news of eternal salvation through Christ. It is by no means the only loving thing we can do for them, but it is the most loving thing we can do. It would be a crime of monumental proportions knowingly to withhold such good news.
A commitment to the proclamation of the gospel is what makes Christian social involvement distinctly Christian. This is challenging to me, because proclaiming the gospel is not always easy for me. But if I claim to love people, to love the poor, to love the hurting, then I should want to do the most loving thing. And that's to share the gospel.
Labels: gospel, Total Church
posted by sarah @ 3:27 PM
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