by Matt Nutter
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. -Revelation 7:9
With very little searching, you can quickly immerse yourself in news feeds and headlines full of tragedy, wrong-doing, hardship, and hate. Pictures and videos capture the angst and the anger. Statistics round out the reality. Stories add the element of humanity and bring the injustices to a personal level. Opinions scream from the screens. Accusations and hypotheses call out perpetrators.
We see injustices manifested in our world -- a decade-long war in Syria, the poisoning of a Russian politician, and an explosion in Lebanon displacing 300,000 people. We see injustices manifested in our nation -- disparities in access during the COVID crisis, on-going racism, human trafficking, abortion, and Hurricane Laura destroying Lake Charles, Louisiana. We see injustices manifested in our state and city -- homelessness, domestic abuse, COVID prevalence rates on the Navajo nation, and this record-setting blazing hot summer!
But one injustice stands above all these. We don't see the headlines in the news, we infrequently see the videos or pictures, we rarely are confronted with the facts, and we don't know any stories. This great injustice is the number of people who have lived their lives, will die today, and go into a Godless eternity -- not because they heard of Jesus and rejected Him, but because they never had the chance to even hear of His Good News, saving message. No one told them that there was a God who loved them. Of a Savior who redeemed them. Of a Restorer who desired a better life for them. Of a King who has prepared an eternal kingdom for them.
Of the world's 7.75 billion person population, the Joshua Project states that approximately 3.23 billion (41.7%) people live in areas where the Gospel message does not exist in a way that reaches them in their heart language. That means there is little to no presence of the church, the Bible, Christian broadcasting, and sometimes not even the presence of a missionary. The World Economic Forum estimates that 150,000 people die around the world each day. If 41.7% are from areas where the Gospel message is so minimal, then more than 62,000 people who die today will spend eternity apart from God because no one told them of His great love for them. The same happened yesterday. The same will happen tomorrow.
Of all the tragedies and injustices I see in our world, this one is by far the most tragic and has by far the longest-lasting implications.
But here's the hope!
In Luke 4:18 Jesus lays out the holistic work that He is all about -- serving the oppressed, the blind, the incarcerated, the poor -- while proclaiming the kingdom was at hand! "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus sends out His disciples to bring kingdom impact to hurting people's daily lives and eternal lives. "Proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, God creates a global force of His followers to be on mission with Him to bring healing to the world. "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us."
In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commissions all of us to be disciple-makers of all people, including those 41.7% living in areas yet to be reached with the Gospel. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And in Revelation 7:9, God gives us a glimpse into the future reality, where Heaven is full of people from every tongue, tribe, and nation! "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."
The heart of Jesus was clearly for those who were suffering in this life. As followers of Jesus, our hearts should mirror that of our Lord, and also be broken at the loss and suffering taking place all around us. Let me say unequivocally -- followers of Jesus should take a stand against the injustices of this world -- whether intentional, systemic, environmental, legal, domestic, foreign, personal, or widespread. At the same time, let us not lose sight of eternal souls that are at stake of loss much greater than earthly food, money, access, or even dignity.
How can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Romans 10:14
