God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice.
Matthew 5:6 (NLT)

History has its heroes of social justice, the men and women that organised, agitated, protested, sacrificed, and finally prevailed. Slaves were freed, children were protected, war was avoided, minorities won new rights – and then awards were presented and biographies were written.

Usually we remember the people who succeeded. We celebrate the men and women who managed to change the law, win the argument, and beat the odds. It is their achievements that give them their place in history.

We’re less likely to remember those who didn’t succeed: the prophets who were ignored, the lawyers that lost the case, the marchers that turned out to stop a war and saw it happen anyway. Those stories don’t get told as often, and there are a whole lot more of them.

It might seem that those efforts were wasted, but in the Kingdom of God, it’s not success that counts. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice. If you feel that deep ache for a better world, if you long for peace, for an end to oppression, for people and the planet to be treated fairly – then you share God’s dream for the world.

And that’s a good place to be, even if it feels lonely and hopeless sometimes. Take your stand, shine out, because however long it takes, God won’t be disappointed. Jesus will finish what he started. Love will prevail. Justice will be done.