Advocacy is an often overlooked aspect of the biblical call to embrace the mission of Christ and to work toward justice and peace in our relationships with the world. As I read the NT I encounter images of a passionate Christ whose actions advocate for the needs of those on the margins of society.

Advocacy begins with caring; really caring about the people we encounter everyday; caring about the situations those people find themselves in; caring about and responding to the pressing social issues of our day. Care and compassion should manifest in our response to the needs we encounter everyday. Like the everyday need millions of people have for clean drinking water, like the everyday need people have for adequate health care, like the everyday need people have for food to feed their children, and like the need for people in poverty to move out of poverty empowering them with the means and the ability to participate in the market in a just, equitable and meaningful way (ie: trade practices that don’t benefit only the biggest corporate players, but are fair to producers and business owners around the globe and at every economic level). What we do in response to these things says everything.

Advocacy cannot be divorced from activism. You cannot effectively advocate for a cause that you are not personally involved in improving. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20), and many other NT/scriptural mandates place a strong emphasis on advocacy and activism. But if we only had Jesus’ words divorced from meaningful action Jesus would only have been a social theorist/idealist proposing intellectual concepts completely disconnected from practical real life application.

Since these teachings emerged from his heart, from the core of his nature, they were not just words they were expressions of who he was. And he left us with vivid examples of how to respond to challenging human situations. One of the clearest advocacy/activism images we have of Christ is from the NT when an angry mob of religious leaders, poised to execute a severe justice on an adulterous woman in the community, brought her to Jesus with a question.

Their question was one with deadly legal ramifications, “Teacher, the Law of Moses says a woman caught in adultery can be stoned to death, what do you say?” Jesus could see they were trying to trap him in a useless debate. So rather than give them what they wanted, he takes their thinking to task. As the stones are ready to fly, he bent down scribbled something in the dirt at his feet, stood up following their repeated questions and demands and said, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” At that they began to leave the scene one at a time, leaving only Jesus with the woman. When they are gone Jesus says, “Where are your accusers now?” She replies, “There is no one left condemning me.” Jesus says, “Then neither do I condemn you. Now go and leave your life of sin.”

The biblical account of Christ allows us to see the rhythmic flow of the life and ministry of Jesus quite clearly. Each gospel account documents his life through a unique and engaging lens. Each account paints a picture of Jesus’ life and ministry that widens our understanding, which in turn deepens the mystery and depth of his character and personality. One clear pattern emerges throughout his life and ministry. This pattern is one of advocacy and activism. Jesus always actively engaged the human issues of need he encountered before moving on to the prevalent spiritual issues of a person’s heart.

I believe this is important for us to consider in our own life/ministry encounters with people. If we are unwilling to advocate for and actively respond to the needs of others the door to addressing the existing spiritual/heart issues will likely never open for us, or at least not in the fullest sense.

We must show people we care about their lives and the situations they are facing enough to do something about it. This does not mean we go around wearing our superhero capes; trying to fix the people we encounter. It simply means our expressions of care/compassion move from the realm of the theoretical (ie: empathetic words) to loving action.

Perhaps embracing this attitude is one of the ways we can see the Shalom of God reigning on earth as it is in heaven. Shalom is more than an ideal it was/is the way God designed/intended our human relationships to be experienced. As well, Shalom is the way God intended the wider relationship between humanity and the created order to be experienced.

Therefore, we when advocate for/act on measures that bring about forward-thinking legislation on a range of issues from: protecting women and children from exploitation to protecting endangered species and their habitats from extinction we are inviting and advancing the reign of God’s Shalom on earth.

But we must also get our own hands dirty and get personally involved in the situations that move our hearts. The love of Christ calls us into the trenches of real life where compassionate action hastens the reign of God’s Shalom on earth.

Which proves this truism: our actions really do speak louder than our words.