God’s Love Gives Reason to Celebrate

Today we celebrated!  Two occasions gave rise to such an event.  One of which was the successful conviction of a man who raped a young girl, impregnated her, and then stole her baby.  With IJM’s help, the man was arrested, convicted, and the baby was returned to her new mother.  This case has been in process for quite some time now, long before I came to Rwanda.  Today we celebrated with a pizza lunch and cake.



1 of 1068 plant species in Nyungwe National Forest

I’m not usually the type to celebrate seemingly small occasions amidst the big picture, especially in the work place.  I would rather move on to the next item on the task list, but that is flawed thinking.  We should celebrate.  We must celebrate!  Since God had His hand in it, however small the event, then there is ample reason to celebrate.  Psalms is littered with praises to God in many different ways and for many reasons.  So why not praise Him now?  This is a reason to praise Him, but we also need to be mindful of why we are praising the God of Justice.  Our options are these:  a bad guy in jail, a work completed by IJM, justice rendered by a maturing justice system, revenge satisfied, a step in the process of healing for the victim, or God’s undying love.  Each one is applicable.  Each one is understandable, even encouraged.  In fact, prior to 12:30 this afternoon, my heart lies in whatever reason puts the bad guy in jail.  Why is that reason so close to my heart?  It’s the human thirst for revenge.  Revenge is only motivated by hate.  Hate gives way to evil.  Evil promotes injustice.  How can I fight for justice when my heart fights against it?  My thinking needed to switch drastically and quickly.  So I thought more about why we are celebrating.  A bad guy is in jail, and that’s a good thing because he is not able to do more bad things to other people.  A young girl sees justice take place, but she is still a 14-year old mother in a developing nation having to continue the inner healing process while walking several kilometers with a child strapped to her back to fetch water for the day when she should be in school.  But God is still good, and we should celebrate.  We celebrate not for the exacting of revenge, for who are we to even demand revenge let alone celebrate when it has been exacted?  Nor do we celebrate justice while easily forgetting the continued need for justice to come to the afflicted.  We celebrate because God, in His sovereignty and divine wisdom, chose to administer His love through justice.  Yes, the bad guy is in jail, but only because God decided that that was the best thing for His loved child with the hope of redemption and reconciliation.  Yes, the victim witnesses justice done, but only because God decided that that was the best thing for His loved child with the hope of healing and forgiveness.  God’s undying, perfect, love.  We should celebrate.  We must celebrate!

The other event was the excellent report from third-party auditors from Kenya, brought in to take a look at how IJM-Rwanda was doing with their finances.

I’m proud to be a part of an organization that celebrates God’s love and is responsible about the resources God has given them.  That was my Monday lunch hour.