Guest Post by Emily Hill
I recently quit my career in market research to pursue a Master of Arts in Social Justice at Kilns College. I had been involved with justice issues and I considered myself a fairly socially aware person, but I wanted to learn more; I wanted to do more. In just a few short months my eyes have been opened to more than I could have imagined.
I’ve been coping with the influx of information pretty well—discussing it, digesting it, analyzing it and processing it.
Until today. Today the floodgates opened and I was in despair.
Our human capacity to marginalize, objectify, oppress and exploit people is overwhelming. It tears up my heart, turns my stomach and brings me to tears. I grieve for it in my own heart, in America and around the world. Sometimes we knowingly do it. Sometimes we deceive ourselves and don’t even see it.
The unjust systems are so deep, entrenched and intertwined. How can we ever make a difference?
Then I remembered: the kingdom of God is coming, the kingdom of God is here. The one seated on the throne tells us, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)
I’m thankful that God is making all things new. That’s present tense. That’s a work currently in progress, not just for some future point in time. God is at work everywhere, transforming lives and situations. And the end doesn’t rest on our shoulders.
In Mark 4:26-27 Jesus says, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.” And again in verses 31-32 he says, “It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.”
The kingdom of God is a mystery far beyond our understanding and it grows by God’s power. What may look small and insignificant now will grow into a majestic kingdom beyond our imagination. He calls us to participate with him in his work, to bring his kingdom, to pursue justice and restore life as he intended it. But God is doing it and he has already won.
It’s not about me.
These words from Derek Webb’s song, “Everything Will Change,” remind me that our hope is not wasted:
But everything’s gonna change
And nothing’s gonna stay the way it is
One day you’ll wake and the curse will break
And even you won’t be the same
Your hope is not wasted on the day when everything will change
And on that day, there will be no time for suffering
And on that day, no hunger and no thirst
And on that day, we’ll run out of time for death and tears
No wonder they call it glorious
I pray that God gives me the ability to move forward in hope, pressing through the despair, resting on his grace and in his strength.
