ONE

I've signed the ONE Declaration committing myself to help fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. I actually did this about six months ago -- but didn't think to blog about it until this week as I'm thinking of ways to "celebrate" freedom.

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - one by one. So far, over two million have signed the declaration in support of a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world.

Does your name belongs on that declaration, too? You can put it there by visiting one.org.

I know that the issues that contribute to poverty and AIDS are not simple & cannot be solved by signing declarations or wearing wristbands. Smart people have tried to figure out ways to "fix" the problems of the world for centuries -- tried, and failed.

Other smart people have tried to figure out how to rule the world, how to own the world, how to destroy the world as we know it. They have all failed too (though they've made a horrid mess trying).

Ultimately, only God is able to do any of it.

In Luke 4, we have record of Jesus reading from Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."