MLK Jr. Sounds Much Like The Book of James In This Quote

“One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves. On the one hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble principles, but on the other hand, we sadly practice the very antithesis of these principles. How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds! We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of Christianity, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of paganism. We proclaim our devotion to democracy, but we sadly practice the very opposite of the democratic creed. We talk passionately about peace, and at the same time we assiduously prepare for war. We make our fervent pleas for the high road of justice, and then we tread unflinchingly the low road of injustice. This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage.”

― Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love

Thankfully there was One who agonizingly bridged the gulf between the ought and the is.  There has only been One.  Ever.  

He is our hope.  

(HT:  Mockingbird)

The Tie Between MLK Jr. and Sanctity of Human Life

A picture says it all.

(HT:  Thabiti)

Revisiting Martin Luther King's 1963 Dream speech

More photos here.

Racial Reconciliation is a Big Deal Because Unity is a HUGE Deal

John Poitevent:

A dying man's last words are often his most important, and in the 17th chapter of the gospel of John we read the last recorded prayer of Jesus before going to the cross. Our Savior could have prayed for a lot of things here. He could have prayed for the overthrow of the Romans, or the spread of the gospel, or for... himself. But He didn't. In some of His final moments on this earth, Jesus prayed for us and for the unity of His Church. Not just a church, but the Church: all believers on the earth.

“... I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one - I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:20-23

Did you notice the "if/then" statement that this passage clearly makes? The Church should be unified "so that the world may believe that you have sent me..."and "Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Jesus says the unity of the Church causes people to believe in Him. Unity is evangelistic! It is so evangelistic that Jesus made it His final prayer. I guess this means He actually did pray for the spread of the gospel. And, tragically, we must assume that disunity in the Church has the opposite effect.

Read the rest.

John just launched a new blog.  I would encourage you to follow him on twitter or add to your RSS feed.  

On Laying Down Our Rights...

Bryan Loritts:

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood to address the annual gathering of the SCLC. Not long into his remarks a man rushed the stage and began hitting Dr. King in the face. Audience members would later recall that the sound of the man’s fists across King’s face made a loud popping noise. They would also reflect on their own astonishment as they watched the leader of the movement simply relax his shoulders, while letting his arms droop by his thighs. After a few moments, some of Dr. King’s associates rushed the assailant, while King instructed them not to strike the man.

King’s actions that day would galvanize the movement, as those who sat in the crowded auditorium saw a man instinctively practice the very non-violent philosophy he so eloquently preached. While he may have credited Gandhi as inspiration for his ideology, he looked more like the Nazarene who patiently endured the suffering of the cross. Martin Luther King emulated Jesus’ life, as he followed in the footsteps of the God-man who laid down his rights for the benefit of others.

Central to the gospel message is the un-American notion of laying down one’s rights. Standing on a mountain teaching the masses one day, Jesus said, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matthew 5:39-41). Roman law stipulated that at any given moment a soldier could come up to you and ask you to carry his pack, and you were obligated to carry it one mile. However, Jesus says that at the end of that mile don’t just wipe the sweat from your face, toss him the pack and exhale that you’ve fulfilled your rights. Go with him two miles. Even more troubling Jesus says that if your enemy slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other one as well. Again, not a really popular American sentiment, but what Jesus is hammering home is the necessity of laying down your rights. King must have had this whole bit about turning the other cheek at the forefront of his mind as he stood on that stage being popped by his enemy.

I have a hard time with this. Something in me rises up when I feel as if I’ve been wronged. You cut me off on the freeway I want to at least speed up to you, give you a look and let you know I’m not happy about it. My kid comes home with a bloody nose, everything within me convulses and screams, “Get him back”. I mean after all, lawyers make well into the six figures to ensure that people hold onto their rights.

What brought America to its knees wasn’t an army of people rioting in the streets, cursing and screaming at their abusers. To the contrary, it was little kids attacked by German Shepherds in the streets of 1963 Birmingham who refused to retaliate. It was the sight of what Billie Holiday described as strange fruit- lynched black bodies swinging from southern trees. What toppled old man Jim Crow was the thunderous rush of water from fire hydrants turned on peaceful marchers. Turning the other cheek, laying down rights is what allows me to sit in any seat on any bus in Memphis.

More than home ownership or drinking out of any water fountain I choose, it was Jesus who laid down his rights that paved the way for my salvation. Peter writes of Jesus, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (I Peter 2:23-24). In short, it was Jesus’ refusal to hold onto his rights that lead to my adoption into the family of God.

When I ease the grip on what is rightfully mine I don’t lose ground, I actually gain ground. I wonder how many marriages would be in a better place if both spouses would stop looking out for themselves, lay down their rights and seek the best in the other? This is the gospel. And it is this gospel that spawned the Civil Rights Movement which lead to the freedoms that I and generations of African American’s enjoy. For this I am forever grateful to Dr. King.

Read the rest.

"I've Been To The Mountaintop"