March 2007

The motivation for perseverance
William Wilberforce persevered in hard work, for a very long time. How did he keep going? First, he opened his eyes to see the horrors of slavery. Very few upper class people at his time cared about slaves, in part because they did not see them. Most slaves were tucked away in the West Indies, so it was easy to go through life without thinking about them. Wilberforce chose to open his eyes. He talked to former slaves. He walked on slave ships. He read about atrocities committed against African men, women and children. This is the painful, haunting work of those who want to fight against injustice. It can bring nightmares and grief. But it also gives motivation to fight for the long haul.

And undergirding Wilberforce's perseverance was godly indignation. He was outraged because God hates injustice, and his strength to persevere was rooted in his relationship with that God. Wilberforce never appeared at breakfast until he had finished his quiet time with the Lord in reading and prayer, even though he often had many guests. God's Word strengthened him to go on, day after day and year after year. Human compassion can do a lot. But God's character and presence adds another whole dimension to our perseverance. Wilberforce shows that we don't have to decide between passion in our doctrine and passion in our work to bring justice. They go together.

The cost of perseverance
William Wilberforce was spent, used up, and exhausted by the fight to end slavery. He had good reasons to quit. Most of the upper-class members of Parliament at the time lived lifestyles of fine dining, parties and concerts. Self-indulgence was expected. Wilberforce's mother even encouraged him to not study or work too hard in school! Wilberforce broke the pattern of his culture and colleagues by his zealous pursuit of righteousness.

He might also have quit because of his health – he was debilitated by colitis and other infirmities for much of his life. How easy it would have been to back off because of his health. But he persevered even when his body was failing, and even though rest might have strengthened that body.

And Wilberforce could have quit because of apparent futility, and the enemies he made on the way. Year after year, he presented bills in Parliament. He spent countless hours in research, planning and pleading the case for abolition. Year after year he lost, as the wealthy slave trade lobbied against him.

Noble work is hard. It's grueling. Sometimes it's discouraging. There is a lot of grit and not much glamor. There are enemies. Misunderstandings. Frustration. Persevering at anything worthwhile is costly. There are much easier ways to go through life than to advocate for righteousness for the oppressed.

The glorious end of perseverance
In Amazing Grace, when the vote for the abolition of the slave trade finally passes, Wilberforce's colleagues in Parliament, recognizing his heroism, stand and applaud him. It is a glorious moment and an inspiring picture that all hard work brings a profit, that we will reap a harvest if we don't give up, that it will all be worth it.

But surely that was not Wilberforce's greatest reward for his perseverance. After he entered eternal life, he would be able to see all the glorious fruit of his persevering work – the slaves freed, children fed, and hundreds given hope because he spent his one life on their behalf. Though human thanks may seem infrequent and thin, we can put our hope in eternity, and especially in a “well done, good and faithful servant” from our Lord. We will see what is now invisible and it will all be worth it.

Amazing Grace, William Wilberforce and....an adoption website?
So why write about William Wilberforce on a website about adoption and child advocacy?

Because we each need the enduring perseverance of Wilberforce to finish the work the Lord has given us.

Paperwork and prayer...Perhaps you need perseverance to finish piles of adoption paperwork or to continue in prayer while waiting for a child. (William Wilberforce had to wait a lot!)

Parenting...Noble perseverance is needed to love a child, any child, over time. Perseverance is needed to lay down your life and serve another, day after day. With adopted children, some of this work may seem even harder. It may not seem as dramatic a challenge as Wilberforce's, but the dynamics are the same. We can gain sustained motivation by taking the time to see those children's needs and then depending on God. We need to acknowledge the cost, knowing our bodies and souls may be stretched and spent. And we can cling in faith to God's promises that all that grueling work will bring a glorious end.

Fighting evil...What if more of us opened our eyes, like Wilberforce did, to systematic oppression and evil? What if we really set out to advocate for the most helpless children? There are still slaves. Children in Asia are sold into prostitution for the tourist trade. Others are forced into seven-day-a-week grueling, dangerous labor. As in the time of William Wilberforce, many thousands of small, vulnerable children suffer because of the people and systems that foster their oppression. The Amazing Grace website lists some organizations that fight to free these slaves. Will some readers join them? (We personally recommend International Justice Mission and World Relief, both on their list.)

It is a daunting task. But with our great heroes surrounding us, we can gain courage to open our eyes, engage in the fight, and persevere to the end. Watch Amazing Grace to be inspired by one of those heroes, then move boldly into the fight.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” (Hebrews 12:1 and Ecclesiastes 9:10)

P.S. Want to learn more about William Wilberforce and John Newton? Check out this book

www.adoption-by-grace.com

Copyright 2007, Kristin Wong.