But then I realized some people have no reason to be happy: they've been unfairly imprisoned, or were born with a painful, crippling disease, or were born into cruel slavery, or are stuck in a cycle of abject poverty, etc. And I wondered how these people could ever have a hope of being happy.
And then I heard in the back of my mind the whisper:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of the sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Luke 4:18-19)And it struck me: all my life, the "Gospel", the good news, has been about getting into heaven. But Yahshua's ministry is to make things right ... here!
As the Lord's body, we've been given dominion over the Earth (Gen 1:28). To have dominion, we have to understand it. And once we have that understanding, it is our ministry to eradicate disease and poverty and oppression.
The congregation needs to take an active role in raising up scientists and doctors and legal professionals and crusaders to cure cancer, diabetes, M.S., the common cold, hunger, poverty, and unbalanced power regimes.
The thought is not fully gelled in my head, but that's what I'm leaning toward lately.
