Helen Martin’s Blog

Gary Haugen, founder and president of [International Justice Mission](http://www.ijm.org) (IJM), and formerly of the U.S. Department of Justice, is well equipped to explain injustice; and as a devoted man of God, he can share the hope that exists in the face of it. Good News About Injustice begins at end of the journey God took him through in order to prepare him to start [IJM](http://www.ijm.org); a path that literally led him through the remains of hundreds of thousands of victims of the Rwandan genocide.

In a lot of cases, I could be described as “the weak of heart,” but this book has been very good for me to read. Although there is a lot of suffering described in the first few pages, and peppered throughout the book, my courage has been strengthened along with my faith as I avail myself of the truths and experiences Mr. Haugen shares. There’s a beautiful simplicity that he uses to describe both the horror and the hope. His manner is gentlemanly and his style anything-but-sensationalized. He does not dwell on the worst parts any longer than is necessary to make his point.

In the book, he explains why seeking justice for the poor is such a specialized ministry and why traditional missions workers - who see oppression everyday and seek to help its victims - can do little to stop them from being victimized again and again.

He says there is something that can be done by “people of good will” but does not condemn Christians for not having acted yet, nor compel them through guilt. He invites. He gives the clear impression that if we accept and join the effort IJM has undertaken to free the oppressed, we will have no regrets.

But I have a confession to make. And it’s pretty embarrassing. Years ago I heard a radio interview of a man from a Christian organization that was fighting injustice. Immediately I thought, “Liberal!” and judged everything he said under a film of suspicion. He shared that when he’s faced with overwhelming suffering and oppression, he doesn’t ask “Where is God?” anymore, but now asks, “Where are God’s people?” My gut reaction was extreme defensiveness, and I half-shouted toward the radio, “You don’t know what I do!”

The man I was shouting at is pictured here with Kenny and me. It’s Gary Haugen. (This picture was taken at the International Justice Mission benefit that took place on Tuesday, May 27, in Minneapolis.)

How attitudes can change! Never mind the fact that I cannot for the life of me imagine what it was I was “doing.” Never mind the great mystery of how it actually happened that the word “justice” - which appears in the Holy Scriptures about [134](http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=justice&qs_version=31)-[138](http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=justice&qs_version=49) times, depending on your version - had been reduced to a liberal buzz word in my head?

What perhaps stuns me the most is, how could I be so self-protected that I completely missed the hope that has drenched the question, “Where are God’s people?”

I no longer see that question as an indictment of me and my fellow American Christians. Now it says to me that God wants to do something about oppression… through us; through me. God isn’t OK with oppression. That is very, very good news.

To paraphrase Gary Haugen, God seems, by and large, to have chosen to limit the good that can be done in this earth to what can be done through “whosoever will” do it. But He hasn’t left us alone to tackle the heartbreaking problems that we face here. And He’s provided us with an abundance of talent, education, and resources to draw from. Instead of feeling guilty and defensive about that, now I’m grateful, and full of anticipation.