Good News About Injustice Analysis

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, and to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.(Biblegateway)” Reading this passage, I have felt that this verse calls out to God’s people to be His hands and feet. In the book, “Good News About Injustice,” it states it well, “The great miracle and mystery of God is that he calls me and you to be a part of what he is doing in history. He could, of course, with no help from us proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with lifeless stones, feed the entire world with five loaves and two fish, heal the sick with the hem of his garment, and release

all the oppressed with his angels. Instead God has chosen us – missionaries, agriculture engineers, doctors, lawyers, lawmakers, diplomats, and all those who support, encourage, and pray for them- to be his hands in doing those things in the world that are important to him (Haugen, Gary). Looking at all of the injustice in this world, God has brought us here to make those situations lighter, to cure some of the hurt and to make this world a better place. One situation of injustice is an unfortunate story about a girl name Maria. One that none of us like to hear but a story that could change people and make this world turn around. The book Good News About Injustice is a fantastic book that really digs into what injustice is and the outlook God has on it. Injustice is a huge topic in today’s society and this world needs the people that live in it to help and pray.
Put yourself in the position of a little girl, in Mexico, with little to nothing to live off of. Her name is Maria. Maria’s story is very different from any other little girl you may know and not in a good and pleasing way at all. Living in Mexico, with really nothing at all, her dream, just like everyone else’s dream was to grow up and move to the United States. To live the American dream that everyone talked so highly of. Maria got the chance to move to America but it was no dream come true. Maria was introduced to an American man that told her he could get her to the United States and she could live the magical life she always dreamt of. Maria and this man talked to her parents and of course her parents decided that giving Maria a chance of a lifetime, they would be the best parents ever. Little did this nine-year-old little girl know that she was signing up to be a sex slave in an abandon semi trailer for the next several years of her life. Never being found, never being able to defend herself because that would cause her to get hurt even worse. Being stripped of everything she owned, even her own dignity. Maria was broken, hurt, her heart was in shatters until IJM came to the rescue. Maria was able to get out and live a normal life. One might think that is the best thing ever, well yes getting out of a situation such as hers is great but the long path of recovery has just begun. All Maria wanted to do was go back home, so she proceeded to follow that dream and once she told her parents everything that she had gone through they disowned her. She was no longer allowed in their house. So not only did Maria get stripped of everything, her own family no longer accepted her. This is what injustice is, this is what we as people in Christ are called to work for. This world of hurting people needs encouragement in the right direction; people and children like Maria need us.
There is a website called IJM which stands for International Justice Mission. This website is helping raise money, provide a place to come and pray, raise awareness and educate people around the world about slaves. International Justice Mission is helping to protect twenty one million people globally from violence(International Justice Mission). This organization is an organization that helps the poor from violence in this world. The process that IJM takes the rescuing victims through is tough, but it is only to better them. They are rescued first getting them out of the place they are endangered, and then they hold the criminals accountable for their actions in court. After being pulled out of the situation then facing the situation IJM provides them with the support and tools they need to heal and thrive through the next steps of their life. None of this could have been possible though if it was not for IJM. Through all of this we need to learn to help strengthen your local justice system so that people around you that may be suffering and you do not know can be free. We need to prove that justice for the poor is possible (International Justice Mission).
Talking about injustice and justice it is always a good thing to be educated on them both.

Some people tend to think that injustice is not as big of a problem than it really is. Injustice is a very real and brutal thing and reading the book “Good News about Injustice,” really helped me look at injustice in a way where I can do things to help. The beginning of the book Good News about Injustice by Gary Haugen, he is telling the reader that there is such a thing as injustice and God is using his people to combat it. We as people tend to block the bad things out and injustice is one of those things. God wants to use us to combat injustice. We are people on this earth to only make it better, by ignoring situations such as Maria’s, that same thing could happen to many different girls. Instead of that happening, we need to rise to this situation and do something about it. Whether it be prayer, educating, storming brothels, anything that can help needs to be done. Once one person starts helping that creates a train affect and soon you have several people supporting a cause that God could have taken in to his own hands but instead He wanted to use His people as His weapon and shine His light through them. Throughout the book the theme is going in the direction of God hates injustice and is actively fighting it with His people. Reasons He hate injustice is because He created each of His own children in His own image and hates it when things are violent and oppressed. The people that are facing injustice in this world today may wonder where God is at, and why He is putting them through this situation. Little do they know that when they suffer God suffers right along with them. God is a man of compassion. In the book it gets into the word power and how God sees that. Saying that injustice is the abuse of power, Maria had this problem with power. This man had some power and control over Maria or so she thought. He was using his power for sinful acts and not empowering the

powerless he was using his power to control Maria and make sure that she understood she is to do what he tells her. Within this book Gods character is very clear and holy that he takes sides with the oppressed against the oppressor purposefully for the reason of hating sin. God’s plan for fighting and winning this injustice to justice battle is us. We are His people, this is His kingdom and that is one of His missions. Toward the end of the book Gary Haugen talks about the real world applications to this. People ask many different questions, like if God hates injustice so much than why is it here in the first place? The book takes a toll in a way of people had their own choice. God loves each and everyone of His children so deeply and cares for our relationships with Him that He granted us free will. We either choose free will or evil, God let us have our own pick. That being said there is injustice in this world because when some people got the chance to choose free will or evil, some chose evil. The end of the book talks about the steps you can take and the steps that IJM takes to investigate these situations. In the book Good News about Injustice, it gives us ways that we can help these victims. To either be apart of IJM, sending someone that is interested and teaching him or her more about it, or to simply pray. Pray for the ones that are involved and pray for the ones that are trying to figure out this sick mystery of where these slaves are being kept.
Personally, I think that injustice is something that is very scary and often times looked over way too much. People do not realize all of the horrible things that happen in this world when they are not directly happening to them. Raising awareness of this situation is great, and being apart of God’s combat against injustice is what we are called to do. When we were placed on this earth, it was not perfect for a reason. If there were a perfect world we would all be in heaven, but when you get to choose the life you want to live and we all choose different paths, situations end in different ways; some better than others of course. Fighting for justice is something that never came to my mind until now because I was never introduced to the idea of IJM or ever heard any stories such as Maria’s.
After hearing Maria’s story, reading the book, and being introduced to IJM my outlook on injustice is completely different. Those slaves need our help, and although it is not affecting my personal life, they cannot defend themselves and they have no way out for it to not affect them. They do not have a choice whether to be in that abandon semi being sold for money or not. We as people created in God’s own image are to be His combat against injustice and to fight for what is right. Maybe that fight is not on the front line, but that fight is behind prayer. That is my fight, to pray for those who are suffering and to fight for justice in this world.