This last week marked the 250th birthday of William Wilberforce, the Christian statesman who, for 18 arduous years, led the crusade against the abominable British slave trade. And as the Christian world remembers this great reformer let us recall again the traits that made Wilberforce a man who profoundly changed history-and whose legacy so profoundly shaped so many lives for good.

To speak of William Wilberforce is to speak of biblical worldview in action. When Wilberforce, one of the youngest members of the British Parliament, came to know Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, he contemplated leaving office and becoming a minister of the gospel. Thankfully, William Pitt, who went on to be Great Britain's youngest prime minister, convinced him otherwise. In a letter to his dear friend, Pitt wrote: "Surely the principles as well as the practice of Christianity are simple and lead not to meditation only, but to action."

There was no doubt that for Wilberforce, Christian faith meant action. He could not stand idly by and see the image of God in each person abused. His fiercely unpopular crusade against the slave trade ravaged his health and cost him politically. He endured verbal assaults and was even challenged to a duel by an angry slave-ship captain.

When the French Revolution began, what had been merely an unpopular position became a dangerous one. As cries of liberty, equality, and fraternity erupted across the English Channel, Wilberforce and his fellow abolitionists who believed so strongly in human equality were suddenly viewed with suspicion by the British people.

Nonetheless, Wilberforce never gave up on the cause, continuing to persevere year after year. Writing about whether to give up the fight, Wilberforce notes, "a man who fears God is not at liberty" to do so.

But Wilberforce's worldview led him to engage in more than just the issue of slavery. He fought for prison reform. He founded or participated in 60 charities. He convinced King George III to issue a proclamation encouraging virtue, and reinstated The Proclamation Society to help see such virtue encouraged. He cared for God's creation, founding the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. And he championed missionary efforts, like founding the British and Foreign Bible Society, which even today, is in the forefront of printing and distributing The Bible worldwide, to those who as yet have never heard of the love of God, and the salvation He offers through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. With their faithful commitment to Bible distribution they keep alive the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, expressed in His final words on earth spoken to His disciples:

 “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20 New King James Version)

I believe that as we come to understand the depth of our own Christian worldview, it forces us not into a life merely of contemplation, but to one of action. We cannot know God more without being moved to love others more-and to care passionately about justice, mercy, and truth.

It is quite a coincidence that in the same week when the 250th birthday of William Wilberforce was being celebrated, the Scottish Justice Minister exercised his powers to release Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man ever convicted of the terrorist led bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. Because Mr. al-Megrahi is dying and suffering from the final stages of prostate cancer, the Scottish Justice Minister, on grounds of compassion, sent him back to Libya to die, so he could spend the remaining weeks of his life with his family in Libya.

News of al-Megrahi's release-and his triumphant return to Libya, naturally stunned and angered many in America and across the world. While on the other hand, there were others who understood and supported the actions of the Scottish Justice Minister.

There is a growing body of opinion that is becoming more and more uncertain, due to new evidence coming to light, as to whether or not Mr. al-Megrahi, did in fact plant the bomb on Pan Am Plight 103.

There is no doubt that one cannot escape the heinous nature of this crime-and the fact that al-Megrahi, the man convicted served a mere 11 days in prison for each of the 270 people killed. Then there's his lack of remorse, or even admission of guilt. And more tragically, there's the pain that the decision to release him on compassionate grounds is causing the victims' families.

In order to extract some meaning from all of this, what we must always remember is that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, like every single one of us is accountable to a Higher Power, and God has made a way whereby, by individual choice, we all can enter into an eternal and meaningful relationship with Him.

Forgiveness, compassion, justice, mercy, truth and a personal awareness of the love of God, are the essential building blocks for a life lived sharply focused. Without experiencing these great truths we will never be free from the slavery of bitterness, anger and unforgiveness that haunts so many of us in our fractured and broken world.