“Raise Up an Army Oh Lord”

Shout it from the mountaintop: a historic event for Christians in Italy has successfully concluded and at the same time has just begun!  I (Sarah) just spent 3 days up north in the Italian Piedmont at the Operation Mobilization training center. Four of us from our Rome-based Alliance for the Prevention of Sex Trafficking (“Slavery No More”) joined fellow Christ-followers from major cities of Italy (Bologna, Turin, Naples, Florence, Genoa, and Rome) where we all lead anti-trafficking ministries. We gathered to attend the first-ever-in-Italy Intensive Course produced by FAAST (Faith Alliance against Slavery and Trafficking) to train caregivers of trafficking survivors. After 3 days with nearly 24 hours of formal lecture and collaborative planning, we were certified to go and teach this faith-based curriculum in our local contexts in English and Italian.  

   

Returning to Rome, I began to read a little book, Generous Justice by Tim Keller, who happened to have just been in our city to address audiences last week. In it, Keller writes:

 “If God’s character includes a zeal for justice that leads Him to have the tenderest love and closest involvement with the socially weak, then what should God’s people be like? They must be people who are likewise passionately concerned for the weak and vulnerable. God injected His concern for justice into the very heart of Israel’s worship and community life… (Deut 27:19; Jeremiah 22:23)” 

p. 8.

We are struck by these compelling words which underline the pursuit of justice for the oppressed as an undeniable characteristic of God’s Kingdom People. We pray the Lord will equip and empower us to proclaim freedom to captives, in Jesus' Name.