Monday, January 16, 2012

A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Growing up in the 1960’s I still remember vivid images on our black and white television of people being beaten, attacked by police dogs and sprayed with fire hoses, simply because they wanted to be treated with equality. Dr. Martin Luther King was a minister of the gospel who was the leader of the civil rights movement. He preached nonviolence because of what our Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

We live in a world that is still filled with inequality based on religion, race, gender and social status. The result is social injustice, racism, discrimination and war. This is not God’s kingdom. We who are born again are members of God’s Kingdom. And when it fully arrives there will be no inequality. In God’s Kingdom there is liberty, justice and equality for all. That’s the dream that Martin Luther King, Jr. had and spoke about so articulately. It’s the dream that followers of Christ share. That is why we pray to God “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done...”

We not only pray for God’s Kingdom to come, but we also live now for social justice and equality. We who are saved are empowered and enabled because of God’s Holy Spirit that has been placed within us. With this deposit of God’s Kingdom within us, we become one in Spirit.

Every person in the world has an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to accept or reject Christ. It’s the opportunity of the cross that allows an individual to be born into God’s family regardless of who your parents are, what color you are, where you are born, or what gender you are. This opportunity is not just for the rich or the poor; the educated or the uneducated. This opportunity is for all of us.

Jesus Christ died for all. The reason that Christ died for all is because God loves all people. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17

When you receive Jesus Christ and make Him your Lord and Savior, you are born into God’s family. It’s a supernatural birth that defies all logic. At the moment of true belief in Jesus and what He did for us at the cross, saving faith becomes operable. At that moment, we are baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit. We get a new nature, a new mind and a new heart that is regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit and we also get a new Father…a Father that will never change on us; never lie to us; never abuse us and never leave us. We also get new siblings…siblings that love us unconditionally. We get a new family.

In this new family we are all one, with no friction and schism. What makes us one? Jesus. We are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. Race, gender and social status are all gone and we are all treated equally and operate as one. We are part of one body ministering at the point of need in the power of the Holy Spirit in the midst of an unjust world. We have been born again into God’s Kingdom and we are ushering in His coming Kingdom. The best is yet to come!

What about you? Have you been born again? Have you been baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit? Today is the day that you can be born into a new family and receive a deposit of God’s coming Kingdom. Kneel at the foot of the cross and make Jesus your Lord and your Savior. He will take you on an exciting journey through abundant life that will lead you from earth to Glory!

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done...” Keep praying for God’s Kingdom to come. His Kingdom is coming in full. He has placed a deposit within you through the Holy Spirit. He is the earnest. He is the down payment on our glorious redemption. The best is yet to come!

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I have a Dream" speech. He concluded the message with the following words: I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. is no longer living by faith. He is now living by sight around the throne of God. Through his eyes today, his dream has become reality. He is living in total social justice and equality around the throne of God. Dr. King made a difference back in the day and is still making an lasting impact today.

We who are Christians, members of God’s Kingdom should live for social justice and equality right now. As a member of the Body of Christ, continue the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Just like Dr. Martin Luther King did, by the power of Almighty God, you can make a difference today that will have a lasting impact in the future!