William Wilberforce's Relentless Battle to End Slavery - VanceChristie.com

 

Wilberforce once said,

“To live our lives and miss that great purpose we were designed to accomplish is truly a sin. It is inconceivable that we could be bored in a world with so much wrong to tackle, so much ignorance to reach and so much misery we could alleviate.”

Wilberforce’s purpose was to work for the abolition of slavery—a huge undertaking. The work we saw God call him to might make us wonder what God might be calling us to.

What purpose were you designed for? What do you live for?

Is there anything in your world that bothers you—something that just seems wrong? It could be something big or something small. Every one of them needs to be overcome—at least as much as possible—by someone who cares.

Do you ever feel so strongly about something that’s wrong, that you’d like to make it right somehow? What’s holding you back?

Some of us have a fear of leaving the familiarity of life as it is. We are comfortable where we are and we don’t really want to step out. Or maybe we just feel too small to make good things happen. But, have you thought that maybe you’re not as small as you feel?

I want to encourage you by saying that with God all of us have it in us to make good things happen—to make a difference. Wrongs can be small as well as big.

Look around you. Do you see a need?

Perhaps a neighbour’s spouse died; an acquaintance is lonely; a friend is depressed.

…or do you feel the uneasy stirring within you that tempt you to go beyond—to bigger undertakings? Maybe there’s an organization you could join that’s interested in the same cause you are.

There’s something for each of us to do. Something we might want to give ourselves to if we have the health and the strength. I think God would welcome us to join him in bringing healing to what is broken. Let Jesus’ example be your guide.

As Wilberforce said, there’s so much wrong, So much misery. He talked about having a “great purpose.” But there are many injustices—not only great ones. There are smaller ones too, those that need people like you and me to bring them to light. There’s no reason to get bored.

 

This has been Part 10 of the series A LIFE WORTH LIVING. Read Part 11 – Will God Forgive?