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Early Friends' Prophetic Mission |
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First Generation Quakers in listening to Christ discerned that their worship was not limited to a particular gathering but concerned itself with the social and spiritual condition of the people. Small wonder the Lord directed them to change political policies of the then English government. That is why early Friends ministers urged the government to wait on the Lord before enacting legislation. The legislators needed to be responsive to God's vision, and not their own limited understanding. No wonder Friends in addition to demanding that prison accommodations be improved, advocated, in Christ's name, that the secular authorities limit the length of prison time. Early Quakers also urged the magistrates to construct facilities to house homeless families and sick people "crying for help." Fox in a letter to the rulers demanded in the name of our living Lord that the authorities eliminate this suffering. In other words, Quakers in their obedience to our Savior, implored the English government to follow the Lord and remember His compassion for the oppressed. Friends were not concerned with political correctness but being responsive to our gracious Lord. Our Friends because they humbled themselves in the Lord's presence could hear God's voice advocating for "the least among us" and answered that divine urging in the spirit of the Crucified One. Small wonder God gathered these Christian souls in the body of Christ.
Arthur Berk |