Fulfilling Your PurposeSample

Destroy the works of the devil

1 John 3:8 says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” If we have been sent like Jesus, we need to destroy the works of the evil one wherever we are. Though this passage essentially speaks of the works of the devil as destroying relationships, I would like to extend it to what happens after relationships break. The outcome of a lack of concern for people is corruption, unethical practices, and oppression.

In India corruption is a way of life encompassing all levels of society, even though we come in the middle of the World Corruption Index. So this is a problem most of us face. It is easy not to be corrupt as a Christian, but can we take a stand against corruption? That becomes a major problem. The things everyone can do, we cannot. For instance, in India once upon a time, you could not buy real estate without indulging in corruption as part of the money was demanded under the table to avoid paying taxes. So, something as simple as owning property was something a Christian could not do because of the corruption is involved. 

But the ones affected the most by corruption are the poor. Generally, the rich have no problem with it as it allows them to do whatever they want, but the poor, who do not have the ability to pay their way, suffer. That is why it is important for us to break the back of corruption by taking a stand against it.

We live in a knowledge era and this is another source of injustice in the world today. In most countries, a good education is out of the reach of the poor and this is something which we as followers of Jesus need to address. There are two ways of doing this. One is to provide scholarships for deserving students so that they can get a good education. The other is to have bridge tuition centers which make up for the poor quality of the schools they study in.

As Christians, we need to get involved in the lives of people and see the injustices they face in life and see how we can help them in their situation. This is an essential part of the gospel that we preach. This is essentially what Jesus did when He cleansed the Temple, where the high prices charged in the Temple market made things difficult for the poor.

The healing of the widow of Nain, and others who were disabled was also an empowering of the weak so that they were able to provide for themselves. 

Respond to your sending by Jesus by caring for the weak and oppressed.