The United States is facing an incredible time of unrest right now, our collective psyche clouded by anger, anxiety, despair, and fear. But as Christians, we should find hope in the fact that the Gospel speaks into all these things.
And one of those things is justice — an issue drawing a lot of attention these days, following the killing of George Floyd by a former Minneapolis police officer and the ensuing protests, some of which have turned very violent.
In fact, during an interview this week with Faithwire, popular author, preacher, and podcaster Christine Caine said, “I don’t know how you could read the Bible and not think justice is part of the mission of the church.”
“It’s part of the mission of the church,” she said. “It’s what we’re here for. … To me, they go hand-in-hand, being a follower of Jesus, pursuing righteousness and justice — they go together. So how will people know we really believe what we profess to believe if we are not willing to live that and fight against injustice?”
It’s not enough, Caine continued, to say we’re against injustice. Christians need to be “proactively fighting for justice.”
As the founder of the A21 Campaign against human and sex trafficking, the “Equip + Empower” podcast host is uniquely familiar with fighting against injustice. Christians have a mandate from Scripture to fight against what is wrong, wherever we see it, because we are called to proclaim the Gospel to the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the abused.
Caine referred to Luke 4:14-21, in which Jesus, returning to Nazareth, preached his first sermon. Reading from Isaiah 61, he said:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.
“In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, ‘Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done.’ Where? ‘Here on earth as it is in heaven,’” Caine said.
In all the things we face — be it the coronavirus pandemic or national upheaval through rioting or unjust killings or a personal crisis — Christians should be doling out hope to the hurting world.
“That’s what the enemy’s after: he’s after our faith and our hope,” the preacher explained. “The Bible says Jesus is this hope we have as an anchor for our souls, both firm and secure. And the truth is, if your soul isn’t anchored in hope in this storm that we’re in, … you will become overwhelmed by the storms.”
At the end of the conversation with Faithwire, Caine offered a prayer over the country, petitioning Jesus for his peace in these difficult days.
“Father, you are our Comforter,” she prayed, “so I pray that you would comfort everyone right now, in the name of Jesus. Holy Spirit, be our Comforter. Lord, I pray for unity and peace in our land. I pray for justice, Lord, across the earth in the name of Jesus. And I pray, Lord, that we, your church, would rise up in this hour and be the hands and feet and voice of Jesus in this world. Lord Jesus, have your way, I pray. Amen.”
Listen to Caine’s new podcast, “Equip + Empower,” which features her preaching applicable lessons through Scripture for believers. New episodes debut every Monday and Thursday.