“Justice is what love looks like in public.”
Love rights wrongs.
Love doesn't just look on suffering and injustice and say, "That breaks my heart for you." That, at best, is sympathy. At worst, it's pity.
No. Love chooses to insert itself into the suffering and injustice, and says, "I will sit right here in the darkness with you, and I will do all I can to fight for justice on your behalf."
Isn't that what all of us want? What all of us need? Someone to sit in our shit with us... Someone to fight for us when we lack the ability to fight for ourselves... Someone to be the strength we lack, the hope we crave, the light in our darkness...
For love that gets down and dirty with us is the only true kind of love there is.
Anything less simply isn't love.
Love has feet on it. It goes the extra mile, and then one more and then one more and then one more. Love seeks to right wrongs and fights against the injustices of the world, even when its voice is the only weapon it has. Love speaks for those whose words were taken from them. Love shares its courage with the fearful; it provides comfort and refuge to the discarded and forgotten; it sits even in the messes it cannot fix, if only to provide solidarity and the loving support of a hand-hold.
Love whispers, "You aren't alone."
What I discovered on my trip to Thailand last month was an organization that embodies love.
My knowledge of The Exodus Road was merely surface-level before I traveled to Southeast Asia to see their work in action. And, to be blunt, I went into it with a lot of skepticism. I've sadly become pretty cynical and pessimistic when it comes to non-profits, having worked in that sector my entire life. So I went into the trip holding The Exodus Road under a microscope, practically looking for flaws and faults and reasons to poke holes in it. Awful, I know.
But then I landed in Thailand.
And with everything I saw, heard, and experienced, my trust in the organization and its leadership only grew and strengthened.
The transparency, integrity, excellence, and strategic thought with which they operate is unrivaled.
Their work of searching for and rescuing victims of sex trafficking is the vital work of justice. It is love in action. And they do it unbelievably well.
And with utmost humility.
The Exodus Road doesn't purport to be the solution for human trafficking. But it fights to be the solution for the one trafficking victim right in front of them. And for the 700 they've already rescued.
No, they aren't going to find and free all 27 million slaves in the world right now, but they will rescue thousands upon thousands. And each one of them is worth it, because each of those numbers has a name. And a story. And a life worth fighting for.
Will you join me in fighting for justice for children trapped in sex slavery?
The Exodus Road is currently trying to expand its team of investigators and social workers in India, and we can help make that happen through monthly or one-time financial support.
(I previously wrote about the incredible work happening in India. If you missed it please read it, because the story of their India Director's personal passion for this cause will blow your mind.)
Together, you and I can step into suffering and darkness, and fight for justice on behalf of those who are unable to fight for themselves. Together, you and I can help fund investigations and rescue operations in India. Together, you and I can help right wrongs by joining The Exodus Road as they find and free minors trapped in sex slavery.
Together we can turn love's whisper into a shout:
"You aren't alone."