WORLD AIDS DAY

As a disclaimer this picture and information comes from the Prisim ePistle, an online journal published by Evangelicals for Social Action. ESA is an organization that is headed by Ron Sider a leading evangelical and outspoken advocate for social justice. He has written a number of books, but I would highly recommend that you at least read Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and Just Generosity.

December 1st is World AIDS Day. Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent to AIDS. We all experience the chaos of such suffering, even if it is experienced from a distance.

Compassion, as Henri Nouwen has helped us all understand, is a word that simply means to "suffer with." God has compassion on us and has engaged in our suffering. Through the revelation of the incarnation we witness a God who is intimately connected to the suffering of His creation. The One who experiences the telos of our brokenness on His paradoxical throne. That symbol of suffering, death, defeat, and God-forsakenness has become a symbol of grace, forgiveness, victory, and reconciliation for those "in Christ."

We can no longer hypothesize the concept of a distant, removed god, for then we only speak of the "no-god." They shall call Him Immanuel, which means "God-with-us." The image of the invisible God bears witness that God is compassion - that compassion comes from God.

Those of us, then, who carry the banner of this God, who are called to become authentic expressions of the Kingdom, should be shaped into the life of compassion - the parabolic sacrifice that engages in the life of the "other." We can no longer safely distance ourselves from the brokenness of our world, but must engage in lives of compassion.

Okay, I know that I'm using a lot of technical jargon, forgive me, what I mean is this: God is compassion, therefore, we should live lives of compassion. Someone who claims to be a Christ-follower but is not shaped by compassion is simply lying to himself (John makes a similar point).

We should be leading the way. But, I must confess that I'm often overwhelmed by the need and end up doing nothing. I'm often tempted to lie to myself, following the natural "fallen" way of self-protection, ease, and comfort. My heart continues to harden as I witness the immensity of the problem and experience a small taste of the worlds suffering. There may be others out there that have gone through the same struggle. Where do we begin? Prayer.

As the World Vision suggests: "Pray! It all starts here, because the One to whom we pray is truly the only One who has the power, ultimately, to bring this crisis to an end. Pray for the tens of millions of children whose lives have been affected by AIDS. Ask God to show you what you can do. Pray that our leaders will make decisions that put children first." Join with others in praying for this immense world need.

Allow such prayers to move you to action. One of the primary ways to get involved would be through World Vision's Hope Initiative. You can check out more information here: http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/worldaidsday_2006?Open&cmp=OTC-hopeinitiative

You can also find information at the World Vision Blog: http://wvus.blogspot.com/?cmp=ILC-blog

Most importantly do something . . . whatever it is that you can do. Don't allow the hardness of our hearts to petrify us, keeping us from right action (orthopraxis). Instead, may our faith guide our action leading us into a deeper knowledge and experience of God's love, that is God's being. Blessings ~ RLS