Caring for Real Problems in a Real World By Jorge Soria
Christ's mission statement relates to real, practical problems in this world.
4 Pacific Union Recorder
T
he past year has been hard for everyone; however, God is with us and never abandons His children during times of confusion, uncertainty, sickness, and death. Jesus' first sermon is recorded in Luke 4. The Gospel writer tells us that Jesus came to Nazareth and entered the synagogue on Sabbath, as was His custom. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him, and He read the prophecy from Isaiah 61:1-2. The way I see it, He chose these verses to be a mission statement for His ministry. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19, NKJV). The original language is very clear. The poor refers to economically impoverished people. The blind refers to people with physical disabilities. The oppressed are people who are mistreated or persecuted. In other words, Christ's mission statement relates to real, practical problems in this world. And we have been called to minister to the people that Jesus came to serve. Our ministry is the people in the community—any place where we mingle with humanity. We praise God that thousands of families have been blessed by the ministry of our church members who provide food, clothing, and other necessities. Some people in need have even been helped with rental assistance to get through one more month or, sadly, funeral expenses for loved ones. Allow me to share a few stories of mission-driven service that is happening in some of the Asian-Pacific, Black, and Hispanic churches in the Pacific Union Conference.
