ABSTRACT
Understanding empowerment and the Christian demand for justice means we should attend to people suffering from injustice. We need to focus on building just relations, particularly with the marginalized. We cannot achieve empowerment and justice until we have relationships with the poorest. This critical piece of the Christian mission, being with the marginalized, is often missing from our practices. The Bible emphasizes God on the side of the marginalized from the Hebrew people themselves, widows and orphans, and foreigners living amongst them. This emphasis continues in the New Testament with Jesus’ choice of companions. Jesus accompanied the marginalized announcing the good news of abundant life. Christians are to continuing announcing and working toward this good news. Christian FBDOs need to follow Jesus’ path and be with the marginalized. Those of us with privilege are also unable to live life abundant until we build just relations with others. The goal of development should be to walk alongside the marginalized and support them in the ways they ask to live life abundant, rather than aiming to simply include the marginalized in our systems.
