Today was the first day I have heard about Joseph Kony; this awe-inspiring film (and hopefully your help) is going to make sure that this isn't the last:
This man is more twisted, sick, and evil than anyone you or I will ever personally know. He abducts kids from their homes and takes more than just their body; he steals their wills and corrupts their souls. Not only does he force boys to grow into mindless soldiers and girls to become sexual manikins, he feeds off of their lives like a parasite. Kony has prided himself in making this growing number of enslaved teenagers his very own method of defense. The governments of the surrounding countries haven't done anything. Even though Kony is at the top of the UN's most wanted, they have done nothing. The United States has remained inactive, giving the local governments a chance to clean up the situation. Now, it is up to the world to unite in offense to stop this vileness.
What can we do? We sign the pledge and donate to the cause (http://kony2012.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/) to let the world know that this horror must be stopped. We can show the world how to care on that day in April. Yet, most of all, we can pray. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31.
This video has been seen more than 11 million times since its release two days. Somehow, we are compelled to share this story. Even my Facebook page is currently flooded with pictures of Shepard Fairey's depictions of Kony to raise awareness. We, as a network and a digital world, have come together in order to at least view and hopefully support the dethroning of Kony. He is only one man, one evil, one little tic that we are wishing to expel. Imagine how much more we could do... how much further this could go.
What if this same drive, this same hope and fervor went towards spreading the message of Christ? What if the world united, not only to condemn one man, but to spread a Gospel that saves all man. God wanted to save us, the children that had been taken from him by sin; just as we wish to save these children who have been taken from their parents by Kony. But, instead of just watching, or just donating, or just messaging, or just hanging up posters, God knew that the only way to save us would be to send part of himself (knowing that he would die).
The message of Kony 2012 focuses on the future. We want to create a better, safer world for our children to live in. We want a world with hope and a world free of evil. That is the same thing the Christ wants for us. He doesn't want us to be taken from the world as Jacob desperately pleads in the video. He knows that we have a place in the world; we are called to help each other (our purpose in this world is vocation). Whether it be helping a child cross the street, smiling and saying hello, or even saving enslaved youth; God works through us to tend to the world. We are all put here with an intended purpose. Our cooperation in defeating Kony should be proof enough. It is great that no matter our background (sexuality/race/gender/phil.), we are able to work together for this cause. To prevent the absence of love, we have shown that we really do love our neighbors (especially the Ugandans). Our hearts go out to them giving us the need to help. God also wants us to know joy and hope in him knowing that he has defeated all that stands against us. He has risen and ascended, proving that he is unstoppable. We too will liberate these children from what could be death (to truly live a will or freedom should be supplied in the American philosophy) and bring them back to a joyous life.
I know that these are dark days and that it is hard to imagine why God would want this to happen. Why would he let Kony do this? Why all those children? Why, God, why? In truth, we can never know. But, take heart. Know that we will defeat this evil. Know that even though Kony meant his acts for ill, God can use them for good. We will be able to sing and rejoice the day that Kony is defeated. The captive children will weep tears of joy in their freedom.
God's peace brothers and sisters,
Josh Schmidt
Here's some updated posts:
Here's a link to the TIME Magazine article:
Here's a link to the Invisible Children Facebook page:
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