We're in it to End It
February 26th, 2014
End It.
End
what? What is there to end? What is this drawn red “X” across the back of the
hand and why should I be in it to end it?
These are the questions that
I asked myself two years ago. In 2012, I attended a conference and became awakened
and aware that there are 27 million slaves that exist in the world today – the
world that I am commissioned to reach. After I was angered at injustice, I
discovered that as many as 17.5 thousand people are trafficked into the
United States alone annually. In fact, Atlanta, the city I was staying in, is
the number one hub in the United States. Suddenly, this tragic statistic became
real. I was reminded that each one of those 17.5 thousand - each one of those
27 million - has a name. And one of those names could have been my name. In case you need to see it in order to
believe it, so that you too can help end it, I implore you to watch this video.
I am so thankful for the creators of this powerful video, the End It Movement awareness campaign whose mission is to shine a light on slavery.
There is a book
in the Bible about a man who did not want to face what was happening around
him. Perhaps like you and me, he too did not understand why there was devastating
injustice during his time. His story opens with this plead,
“Why do you
force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? (Habakkuk 1:3)
When I first
heard the horrifying statistics and saw pictures of the faces that were missing
– taken - I thought to myself, somebody
should do something. But then, I am a somebody.
Priscilla Shirer said it
like this,
“Our tendency is to feel like somebody else will surely take
care of this. It is always easier and more comfortable to pull back, disengage,
and find something more pleasant to dwell on…”
Shining a light on slavery is the willingness to be
interrupted. As students, working professionals, full-time mommies, or whatever
your title might be, we understand what it means to be interrupted. We simply do not have time for interruptions in our
jam-packed day-to-day routines, personal agendas, unfinished schoolwork, and
needs of our families.
But then I am reminded that Jesus was willing to be interrupted for us. In fact, out of God’s
love and compassion, Heaven was interrupted when Christ came to seek and to
save what was lost, missing, and broken. And it was not so that we could live
our lives comfortably, turning out face from injustice. On the contrary, “It was for freedom that Christ set us
free" (Galatians 5:1).
I’m amazed by
the Lord’s response to Habakkuk,
“Look…!
Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days – you
would not believe if you were told” (v. 5).
Don’t you see? We,
the church, must look at injustice because we are made responsible to stop it.
Just like Moses was responsible. Esther was responsible. And Jonah was
responsible. Habakkuk asked God, “Where are you?” but instead, he should have
asked, “Where are Your people?”
One day, the world will ask. One day, your
grandchildren may ask, where were God’s people when there were 27 million
slaves? I wonder if I will be prepared to give an answer. I wonder if I will be
ashamed of that answer.
I want to challenge
you to love the world in a new way today. We can allow these statistics to numb
us, but let’s choose to be interrupted, awakened, and determined to shine a
light on slavery.
February 27th, 2014 – End
It Movement Day
Tomorrow, the
His Ladyship ladies will draw a red “X” on our hand to tell others that slavery
still exists. Won’t you join us and other Freedom Fighters
from around the world as we SHINE A LIGHT ON SLAVERY? Yes, somebody should
stand up to it… and you are a somebody.
If your compassion is leading you to do something now,
visit The End It Movement website and give to organizations that are making a
difference by changing, rescuing, and restoring lives each and every day.
Participate with us! Draw the “X." Instagram it. Hashtag #enditmovement and #hisladyship
Shine the light.
-Whitney
-Whitney
"Evil Did Not Win"
December 14, 2013
This morning in Newtown, Connecticut, church bells rang twenty-six times in honor of the twenty-six lives that were taken too soon, too tragically, and too cruelly. We also want to remember that today, December 14th, marks the one-year-anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. As we pause and consider the six educators and twenty children whose lives were cut-short, our hearts pain in devastation.
Alissa Parker, mother of the six-year-old victim Emilie Parker, released a video on Monday. For a day that was full of evil, darkness, and violence, what a glorious relief it is to hear Alissa’s words, "Evil didn't win that day…”
Today we join with Alissa, and other hurting parents of the twenty children, to proclaim that despite the destruction at the hands of a killer, we serve a good God. Take a look at this video and see how Emilie’s parents, Alissa and Robbie, “carry on the love that she had.”
"It's quiet, it's not on the news. It takes effort to find. But what I've realized through all of this is, how strong and how big God's love really is." – Alissa Parker