Word on the web

17 May 2008

Isaiah 58 v 6-9

"I will tell you the kind of fast I want: Free the people you have put in prison unfairly and undo their chains.
Free those to whom you are unfair and stop their hard labour.
Share your food with the hungry and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes.
When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours, and don't refuse to help your own relatives.
Then your light will shine like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your God will walk before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
Then you will call out, and the Lord will answer. You will cry out, and he will say, 'Here I am.'

Are you free? Did you choose what to wear this morning? Do you decide whether or not to pray? Did you vote recently? If you answered yes to these questions, then you are free. Even some of the things we might feel obliged to do are in fact freedoms: studying, going shopping, going to work. God loves freedom - he gave us free will from the start, knowing we'd abuse it. So, if we're serious about being God's hands and feet in the world then we need to use our freedom wisely and speak out for those who have none.

Today think of Juan, 19, who lives in the shanty town of Altos de Cazuca in Bogota, Columbia, where it is common practice for young people to be threatened, raped and even killed by illegal armed groups. "There's no sense in why you might get death threats" says Juan, "they told me they were going to kill me because of the way I dressed". Juan has been threatened five times, he and his friends cannot move freely around their home town for fear of the gangs. But Juan is part of the Mencoldes youth group, run by a Christian Aid partner. Through the group Juan is campaigning for the rights and protection of young people in the area, offering hope for the future.

Dear God, I pray for Juan and the Mencoldes youth group, please bless their efforts to bring about change in Bogota. Help me to value my own freedom and to use it wisely. Amen.

Written by Bianca Parry, Churches Youth Manager at Christian Aid