Today I learned the story of Thomas Clarkson, an undergraduate student at Cambridge University in 1785. In the scheme of things, he was pretty low on the pecking order – an undergrad student, he didn’t have any letters after his name or any grand titles (and who knows that they were super important in England back in the day).

But what he did have was a concern. He’d become aware of the plight of slaves who were forced to live and work in unspeakable conditions, bought and sold against their will. As he put in the effort to research the issue to write an essay for his degree, a bonfire was lit inside him. Abolition of slavery became his life’s work and he played a big part in bringing down the huge slave trading practice of the era. 

Now of course, the elephant in the room is that human slavery is more prevalent in this current day than it ever was. The world is full of inequalities and injustice, and when we think of these big issues, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and just freeze. But God doesn’t want us to get bogged down in fear. He has created us to be His human ambassadors on this earth: speaking and taking action on His behalf about the issues that break His heart. 

One of my favourite verses in The Message translation is found in Matthew 5:14-16:

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

In our own corners of the world, and about the particular issues He’s laid on our hearts, He wants us to shine. To speak. To bring the light in. To not be silent anymore.

So I ask you: what’s bugging you? For each one of us it’ll be something different. My big issue is all about the millions of people living with type 2 diabetes, being told that it’s a permanent condition that’ll get worse over time, when in fact there is a solution that is rarely offered by health professionals. To me, it’s definitely an injustice that bugs me. I won’t get into a big rant here, but if that’s something you want to know more about, feel free to look at my personal blog to learn more. It’s on my heart to help people become free in this area.

So what’s your thing? What has God shone His laser pointer on for you? Is it bullying in schools, isolation for new migrants, homelessness, poverty? It might be very specific or maybe it’s broad and not yet well defined. (I like to call it nebulous!) That’s ok… you’re on a journey and maybe things are not yet fully clear. But keep praying and asking the Holy Spirit to guide you and show you what your role is.

And while you’re waiting on Him, start to learn more about the issue and start to speak. The enemy would tell us we’re not yet qualified, we’re a nobody, we’ve got no name, no clout. But we know that in God, that’s just not true! He uses the weak things of the world to confound the wise. He uses the shepherd boy to slay the giant, and the weeping woman at the tomb to proclaim the miraculous news of his resurrection. So speak up. That truth inside of you that you care about: Give voice to it. You’re here to be light.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”

Isaiah 58:6 (NIV)