Allan Boesak and the fight for justice

Yesterday I had the opportunity and HONOR to listen to Rev. Allan Boesak speak on campus.  

Allan Boesak has been called the Martin Luther King of South Africa. He was a prominent figure in ending the South African apartheid, and is a good friend of the very famous Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 

I was inspired and reminded to NOT GIVE UP easily in the fight for justice. We dream BIG DREAMS for good reasons. We have so much more power than we think we do, and courage and ability to do the things God has placed on our hearts. 

The talk was entitled, "Civility, Politics and Reconciliation: An impossible triangle?"As excited as I was about hearing this man speak, let's get real here: that title sounded about as interesting as watching local city county council meetings on the public access channel at 2am... in other words... not interesting. 

However, this man breathes peace and forgiveness in and out.  You could feel the electricity of the Holy Spirit in the room when he spoke. His courage and experience in radical forgiveness reverberated from the walls.  

I took a bunch of scribbly notes in between tearing up between his stories.  So I will transcribe a few things that stood out to me, and lessons we can take from his talk. His thoughts are in bold, my personal musings and application are underneath. 

• "Genuine Civility begins with transparency and openness towards each other." We often expect the government to be transparent, while we ourselves are completely opaque. What would happen if we opened up to those around us about our struggles?  
• Yesterday in one of my MSW classes, one of my fellow classmates opened up through tears that she felt that she may not be right for the program, that she felt like she might not be equipped to do social work. This action of admitting her fear was so brave. It was so real. I think most of the class was in awe of her rawness and honesty. She voiced an emotion that so many of had been feeling, but were too scared to say out loud.  Her actions and words broke down so many barriers, and I think, will have incalculable benefits towards openness and community that we won't even be able to measure. This action did not isolate her, or scare off the community, it made her extremely like-able, relateable and human. The takeaway: Let's be real.

• Lord send me. I remember being a fired-up teenager, and then young adult praying that God would send me overseas, so that 'I could change the world'. I had a brief experience with *almost* going to Thailand, complete with a purchased $3,000 ticket  in hand- and through various circumstances, the answer became obvious (years later): "Not here. Not now." But that is another story for another time. I think that overseas missions has its place, but that is not possible, nor desirable for everyone. I've felt for a long time that I am to remain here. In this city. I don't know for how long, or exactly why, but I do know that my place is here. For now. 
• However I still pray "Lord, what do you want me to do with all that I am learning, with all of these injustices I am seeing that I now have the skills and knowledge to do something about? Where would you have me go?"  Much to my chagrin, Rev. Boesak posed the question: "Maybe God is sending you back into the struggle, towards the conflict." These words gave me goosebumps. I am humbled and challenged. I tend to want the least amount of conflict. After I graduate, I want to work in a cushy therapist job pulling in $100/ hour. I want benefits. I want my future children to 'have it all' But I think I am here for something else. I think I am built for something else. God is preparing me for something else. In choosing between what this world says is good, and choosing between what God says is better, I am reminded of this verse: Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?  The takeaway: It can be just as difficult to stay as it is to leave.

• "Take the time you have on campus very seriously." This message is particularly applicable to students, but it is also fitting for anyone who wants to apply gratitude and focus in their endeavors. Boesak encouraged us to not take our classes and studies for granted. He said that we (social justice do-ers and seekers!) will need every bit of knowledge that we can soak up while we are in school to help us in the struggle for social justice. That we have to understand how to the system works in order to work with it, and sometimes fight against it. To be present and to dig in. 
•  Boesak spoke about the South African students willing to give up their lives and their futures (facing death and imprisonment) to end racial segregation. This reminds me of the call of Christ to count the cost of following him. The analogy is unmistakable.  That we have to be willing to give up everything to be his disciples.
• Finally, He also spoke of Desmond Tutu's idea that our spirituality must overflow into all areas of our lives. That spirituality should overflow into our schoolwork, our housework, our careers. I am SO good at compartmentalizing my life away from spirituality, instead of allowing it to flow through. My prayer is that I drop the barriers and may Jesus flood all areas of my life. 

I will leave you with this:

“When we go before Him, God will ask, "Where are your wounds?" And we will say, "I have no wounds." And God will ask, "Was there nothing worth fighting for?”- Allan Boesak