Kony 2012: Only One Man for the Job

This week a campaign went viral, spreading across the internet like wildfire, which has shocked and inspired the world.  Kony 2012 is the project to make Joseph Kony, a rebel, military leader in Central Africa, famous in an attempt to force action from international bodies, specifically the US government.

It is a tough subject with no clear solution but there is one person who could, and has, made all the difference.

Kony is the leader of the LRA, a rebel group infamous for abducting children to be brought up as soldiers or as wives for soldiers and notorious for rape, mutilation and murder of civilians.  Invisible Children, the organisation behind the Kony 2012 initiative, are asking the world to spread the word, primarily presented in a very well made video, and contact the culture and policy makers of the globe in an attempt for them to pressure those in power to make a move, find and arrest the rebel leader.

However inspirational and emotional the Invisible Children campaign has been, there have inevitably been their critics, particularly regarding the low percentage of funding they actually put into supporting the people of Africa and their continued support of the alleged corrupt Ugandan army.  Though there has been a response to the criticisms, the issue remains a contentious one.

Slogans such as #stopkony have typified the campaign.  But, do you know, one day all the abduction, murder, rape and corruption will be stopped once and for all.  The Bible says that one day in the future, God is going to step in and stop all these things that have driven both sides of this campaign for good (Revelation 21:4).  The horrific things that Kony has done and the seemingly selfish attitudes of the organisation campaigning against him will all be judged by the right and just Creator of the universe (Romans 2:16).  Though these things happen on earth now, which we are right to try and put a stop to, there will be an eternal stop made to these things in all history.

However, this has a consequence for us too.  The Bible says that all sin has death as a consequence (Romans 6:23): yes death in a physical sense but more importantly, eternal judgement and separation from God.  The sins of Joseph Kony and the sins of you and me will all be judged in the same way by God, we will all have to stand before our Maker.  The disgust that the world has had for Joseph Kony in the recent days is the same disgust that God has for the sins that we have in our lives.  They must be dealt with!

Jesus is the man to solve the problem, and he already has!  God, in human form, revealed Himself to us in so many ways, and still does (primarily through the Bible), to give us an offer: whoever believes in me shall not die (the eternal separation from God) but have eternal life (John 3:16).  Jesus died in the worst possible way and, in doing so, took on the punishment of the sin of the world (1 John 2:2), he died to take our place for the judgement we truly deserve.

God will take care of these horrible things that the Kony 2012 campaign is based on, once and for all.  He must also deal with our sin.  Will you take His offer, accept Jesus as your saviour (or saver) and be a part of the eternal plan of the Creator of the universe?