lawyer
Image via Michelle D. Milliman / Shutterstock.com
A lawyer for the Christian legal aid group International Justice Mission (IJM) has disappeared, and was last seen locked in a metal container with his client yelling for help, reports The New York Times.
Willie Kimani, a lawyer in Nairobi, Kenya, was representing the motorcycle taxi driver Josephat Mwenda in a case against a police officer who had shot him accidentally, and when Mwenda complained, retaliated by accusing Mwenda of a variety of false charges. Despite the harassment, Mwenda pursued the complaint in court.
Prison photo, luxorphoto / Shutterstock.com
What struck me as he spoke was the sheer human potential of this my client, wasted. That matters for all of us because of an unflinching Scriptural text about how we can enter the kingdom of God: “for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me….just as you did it to the least of those who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matt. 25:35-40)
That’s the test. Not beliefs or intentions. Actions.
Specific actions: Jesus tells us to visit people considered the worst among us, those accused of breaking the law.
It’s not just innocent prisoners we are to see; it’s prisoners. They are all Jesus.