Jesusluvsall's Blog

Two appointments yesterday caused me to think about Isaiah 61 and the promised Messiah/Christ. Both of my appointments were with people who experienced oppression in their home countries.  The people both appointments were with came here as refugees.

The first appointment was with a friend who is Mandean. The Mandean people are an oppressed minority in Iran because they are not from the majority religion. They do not have rights there. Some have been killed because of it. Their young people have limited opportunities for education.

The second appointment was with a Yazidi friend who came here three years ago as a refugee. She had to flee her home because ISIS was coming. She fled to escape the terrible genocide committed against the Yazidi people.

I think of what Isaiah 61 says:

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,”

While the passage seems to be dealing with spiritual issues of being freed from being trapped in the darkness of sin, still when I meet with people who have been oppressed, I think about how Jesus would reach out to them.

Those who follow Jesus are the hands of Jesus on earth. Jesus told us we are the lights of the world. He is THE light, but he chooses to shine through us as his lights.

I am mindful of that when I meet with people who have experienced oppression whether they are refugees, victims of assault, or people who have experienced family trauma.

So today as I finished helping my Mandean friend, I commented, “I love to help people who have been oppressed.” Her parents are friends of mine. I met with her to help with some things for college. She can have a bright future here in America that she could not have had in Iran.

Then I went to the Yazda office to meet with a Yadizi friend. I am friends with her family. She needs to take the TOEFL test, Test of English Foreign Language, to be able to start a Master’s Degree in Education. We talked about the TOEFL and made plans to meet with study for it together. One day in the future she will be a teacher in our schools.

Both my Mandean friend and Yazidi friend experienced discrimination and oppression. I pray for them for their lives in the here and now and also for them to come to know Jesus and his great love for them.

This is something I am committed to not lose sight of as we go through this holiday season. It is after all the whole reason Jesus left heaven and became a human baby- to be our Savior.

Thank you for reading. God Bless