Luke
4 reveals the mission of Jesus on earth. He communicated that he was a
fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy he had just read in the synagogue at
Nazareth. The prophecy read:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

We
often find ourselves trying to figure out why Jesus came, complete
with theories more complex than the timeline of LOST. But Jesus made
his mission clear.

Good news for the poor. Freedom for prisoners.
Sight for the blind. Freedom for the oppressed. Communicating the year
of the Lord’s favor.

If we are to be like Christ, our lives would
naturally be focused upon his priorities. Fighting poverty,
healthcare, restorative justice, ending slavery, and communicating the
good news that Jesus is Lord.

We don’t have to pick and choose
which one of these areas to care about. Jesus cared about them all and
gave his life to help change the lives of many. May we be passionate
about the things that moved the heart of Christ. Then we will truly be
good news to the poor.

Originally posted here.

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DILLON
BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith.
Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has
investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books
include Undefending Christianity, Not in My Town (with Charles J.
Powell), and Thirst No More (October). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org.