What we have to give (Easter 2012)

Behind every big mission, there is an even bigger purpose and motive.  So what really is the purpose in saving 18 boys from a life of slavery on Lake Volta, over 3,000 miles away on a continent most of us will never visit?   What do nine teenagers feel that they really have to offer those kids?

As I get wrapped up in the current state of my life, I often forget to remember the reality of my life before Christ.  However, when I consciously step outside of my bubble of daily activities, web of friends and family, and anything else that has come to constitute my safenet of security other than God, I can vividly recall a time when there was little I could think to do to escape the grasp of bondage. Whether captivity has presented itself in a physical, mental, or emotional way in our lives, we have all experienced some form of slavery. Scripture affirms this idea -

 

In the words of Paul, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, THOUGH YOU USED TO BE SLAVES to sin... YOU HAVE BEEN SET FREE and have become slaves to God.  The benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 6:20-23)

 

Before we discovered freedom in Christ, we were every bit as defenseless as a little boy sold into servitude by his parents in Ghana. Galatians 2:13 says that we were "brought near" when we "were far away". Romans 5:6 says that "when we were utterly powerless, Christ died". Clearly, we had no power of our own to escape our situation of bondage.  Aside from the physcial concept of slavery, it cannot be denied that each one of us has experienced enslavement.  That is, until God sent His perfect Son to save us from that enslavement, to "transfer us from the kingdom of darkness... purchasing our freedom with His blood and forgiving our sins" (Colossians 1:13). 

The more I think about the true mission of Ghana Rock, the more I am convinced of the necessity of this message through FAITH.  If we were on a mission merely to free children from physical slavery, would we be answering God's primary purpose and call?   If City of Refuge was an organization that rescued slaves only to "reintegrate" them back into a life filled with spiritual bondage, would they really be succeeding in their objective to "free slaves"?  The reality is this - slavery cannot be ended if ALL forms of slavery are not put to death in Christ.  Imagine the disappointment and confusion of a boy, having been rescued from Lake Volta and housed in a safe home. turned out into the world to face the unexpected trials and trauma of an unfamiliar and equally debilitating kind of slavery.  Imagine the anguish of a young man who, believing he had conquered the greatest hurdle of his life and had done away with bondage forever, finds himself susceptible to sin and in fear of death.  What kind of freedom would that be?

 

The City of Refuge Ministries is committed to introducing rescued boys to Jesus Christ and nurturing their relationships with Him.  Former child slaves rescued with the very dollars raised and the very prayers lifted to God through Ghana Rock, will not only know freedom from slavery on Lake Volta but also the incredible freedom of the Lord.  This means that at the concert in May, we will not only get the opportunity to celebrate the freedom of 18 African boys but also the freedom that we ourselves have experienced in Jesus Christ.  Until then, let us wholly rejoice in our complete release from every kind of bondage. We are no longer slaves to fear, slaves at the hands of men, slaves to our sinful nature, slaves to the inevitability of death or the brevity of life, or anything else that this life can bring. In every possible sense of the word, we can have FREEDOM in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Happy Easter, He is risen indeed!

 

- Katie Hensel