Most all of us know or have heard the following statement, “The mission of Biola University is biblically centered education, scholarship and service — equipping men and women in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.” Because we attend a university that has this goal we must ask; where exactly does the world begin?
I believe that sometimes impacting the world starts close to home — by enabling those we impact to go further than we have gone ourselves. There is a heavy burden on my heart knowing that on April 20 many of my fellow Biola students plan to “Cover the Night” and make Joseph Kony famous by posting stickers and signs around our area. Many of you have jumped to do this for an international cause yet do not know the name Trayvon Martin. To be clear, I am in no way condoning the behavior of Kony. It is deplorable and justice should be restored to those from whom he has taken liberties. But before we start trying to serve our American justice to an African country on the other side of the world, why not fight and stand up for justice for those in our own country who also deserve and need it?
Injustice in America
On Feb. 26, armed with nothing but a can of Arizona iced tea, his cellphone and a bag of Skittles, Florida teen Trayvon Martin was shot and killed while walking through his father’s neighborhood. I wonder how many of us Biola students know about any of the controversial facts of the last minutes of Martin’s life. I know that a large majority of us have watched the 30-minute Invisible Children video about Kony and were moved to act, but how many of us have given Martin 30 minutes?
The facts change everyday; I would encourage you to do your own research and not just take my word. However, here is a basic synopsis: Martin was a 17-year-old black male visiting his father. George Zimmerman, 28, the neighborhood watchman who shot him, claims that it was in self-defense.
Martin had no weapon, weighed at least 100 pounds less than Zimmerman and was talking to his girlfriend on his cellphone when approached. Zimmerman said he spotted a suspicious black figure in a hoodie and assumed the person did not belong in the neighborhood and was trying to rob houses. Zimmerman then called the police to report Martin, pursued him against the advice of the police and ended up killing him.
The officers who questioned Zimmerman were satisfied with his self-defense claim and ran none of the tests required for shootings. They took witness stories but later corrected the witnesses insisting that they had not heard Martin cry for help. These officers took Martin’s body and labeled him John Doe, never asking anyone in the neighborhood if they recognized him, and one month later still have not returned his cellphone to his parents.
Different calling to impact the world
This is one example of the many injustices that happen in our own backyard. Martin’s parents will never get to hold their son again, never get to see him laugh. They will never get to watch him graduate high school, go to college, get married or have kids of his own. We should be just as moved to take a stand against this injustice as we are to stand up for the plight of the child soldiers in Uganda.
With this in mind, I would like to acknowledge that I do firmly believe that God does not call us all to the exact same places in life. All of our callings are different but our mission is still the same, to impact the world for Christ. Sometimes the world is in our backyard — like fighting for justice for the Martin family, or even fighting for justice in Los Angeles, Compton, Anaheim or San Francisco.
We all love to be a part of big movements but sometimes the movement is nearer to us than we think. If we accept the mission of our university, “equipping men and women in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ”, we accept the call to impact the world for Christ. I challenge you, my fellow Biola students, to think about where our world begins. Sometimes it begins in our own country, state, city or backyard.
