I’d define being just as “Pursuing righteousness and truth no matter the cost.” Too often we jump on the band wagon of “social justice” because it seems trendy without remembering the cost of justice. The call to fight injustice alone, without weighing the cost, will not sustain us.
I’m still not sure what defines a call except that its a deep sense of fully knowing you’re meant to do something; a resonance within your soul that won’t let go, maybe? Nonetheless I’ve felt “called” to work with the victims of sex trafficking since I went to India in 2009. However, in the second year of working with victims on the streets of Costa Rica, I questioned that call. But I knew I was supposedly “called”, right? I had grown weary in my own strength. My vision of justice had not been fully formed from a relationship with God, but from my perceptions of what I thought justice should be—how I could earn it. God alone is the great Justifier. He epitomizes justice. The only way to lay hold of the meaning of justice is by spending time seeking God through prayer and worship. It is a costly process, but in doing so, we can’t help but see and feel His heart beat for people and His desire for social justice.
Without this, “the call” will only sustain you for so long until people become a burden or a job. Once you’ve lost connection with His heart, your head starts to take over and your heart is no longer in the work. A daily renewal and inflowing of His spirit is necessary in this pursuit of justice because without that we are only teaching people to be reliant on their self sufficiency, a greater injustice. As a growing non-profit, LFI has gone through many trial and error periods, but the core of who we are has remained the same. We reach out relationally to connect victims of sexual exploitation to their true value, empowering them to live a transformed life through Jesus. The greatest injustice we can impart to anyone is giving them self-sufficiency rather than a heart fully dependent on a good God who justifies us wholly.
