John 18:37-38 “Jesus answered, you say that I am a King. For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to him, ‘what is truth?’”
Through Pilate’s interrogation of Jesus, we learn that behind the Jewish religious leaders’ plot to have the Romans crucify Jesus is this reality—the religious leaders could not refute Jesus’ teaching or His divine power to perform miracles. So, they reverted to the Satanic tactic of avoiding and subverting the truth by killing its messenger. And how did that work out for the religious leaders? Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, as He prophesied, and 50 days after His resurrection, Jesus’ followers began spreading His truth worldwide.
“Silence through violence” is a tactic still being employed around the world by people more concerned with their selfish ambitions than with seeking and living according to God’s truth found in the Bible. In the 21st Century, this has resulted in the displacement of approximately 123 million people worldwide. Of that number, 42.7 million people live in refugee camps outside of their home countries, and 73.5 million people are IDPs (internally displaced people) within their own countries. About 40% of the world’s displaced people are under the age of 18.
In Darfur, Sudan, the world’s most war-ravaged country, this means the lives of children are at risk in every area. Hunger is a daily reality. Many have lost both parents, while others depend solely on the struggling efforts of their widowed mothers to support them. Many teenaged girls are heads of their household because both their parents and their older brothers have been killed. Their dreams of attending school and getting a good education have vanished.
What does the future hold for such children? Will they become adults committed to sustaining the violence by seeking revenge? Who or what can restore their hopes for a better life?
Calvary Road Ministries is committed to providing God’s answers to such children. The answers involve providing them with food, shelter, and most importantly, the opportunity to learn about Jesus, the Author of life and the Prince of Peace. CRM shares the gospel by providing Bibles and gospel resources in digital format loaded on various devices. CRM’s short-term volunteer teams train the boots-on-the-ground Sudanese church leaders who then share the good news within IDP and refugee camps.
God’s alternative to Satan’s tactic of “silence by violence” is to “shatter the silence by providing truth.” When Jesus offered Pilate truth, he responded cynically by saying “what is truth?” Today in Sudan, millions of people who self-identify as Muslims are asking the same question. But they differ from Pilate in that they are genuinely seeking.
Will you help us provide them with God’s Word and relief for their physical needs in Jesus’ name?
In His Name,
David Crane
President, Calvary Road Ministries