I ended up watching the movie, Amazing Grace in the theater today. It was a powerful and moving story about William Wilberforce, a politician in the parliamentary who helped bring an end to the slave trade in England.
It is stories like these that remind me of the importance of Christians faithfully living out their callings in all sectors of society – in their spheres of influence. As people live as salt and light of the world, we will see a society or nation transformed.
There was a very pivotal point in his life where he contemplated whether to become a pastor or stay as a politician. The Bible reminds us that “if anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Ti 3:1). There is nothing wrong with being a pastor, but for too long people have believed that if they really want to serve God then they should be a pastor… but times are changing.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I think being a pastor is an awesome calling and in fact, it is something that I am trying to raise more of in our church. But the problem comes when we think that is the only way to “really” serve God.
We are living in a unique time.
God is raising up people who are being equipped to bring transformation to various parts of the world; and it is not just through the pastors, but business people, artists, politicians, educators, and etc.
I humble submit to you that I don’t think any pastor could have done what Wilberforce did to bring down the injustice of the slave trade during those times. It had to be a special person with special gifts and talents… but most of all a special calling into the political realm.
We need to see more Wilberforces in our generation. When we thinking about issues such as child sex trafficking, abortion, the situation in Sudan, AIDS, poverty and etc. we need to see more people of compassion, courage, and conviction being raised to transform the world. The time is now!