Monday January 20, 2014 marks Martin Luther King day. A day of celebration of a man who dreamed that black and white people living in America will be able to look at each other and breathe together within the same room knowing that each was equally loved and respected by both God and mankind. Martin Luther King Jr demanded that black men and women be regarded and treated equally in America a country that at one time deemed black individuals as three fifths of a man. What set him apart from many other individuals living in the United States who risked their lives during their insistence to receive rights and freedom of speech is that he sought Black Americans' freedom in a peaceful matter. And Mr King cried out not just for Black American's freedom but for the rights and dignity of any other minority living in this country.
Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated at 6:01 pm April 4, 1968. I was not alive at that time and though I knew about Mr. King , that he was murdered for his outspokenness in calling for the respect Black Americans and their rights, I did not get to know too much details about his life until I grew into my twenties and moved to the heart of the American South where Dr. King is spoken of much more than the small northern American town where I grew up. I always respected Martin Luther King Jr and believed in the value and freedom of all mankind but as I grew more into perusing the Bible and drifted away from validating every information simply because it came from a person of a certain color, ethnic background, neighborhood, or political party I began using the Word of God as my backbone source of information not man.
I respect Dr King and believe that his fight for the rights and freedom of all men was great but disagree with the great amount of attention and praise he has received from the world, especially men of color. Yes he was a great man but since he passed away, his children have been known to bicker and fight each other in front of public media, his oldest son, Martin Luther King III and late wife, Coretta Scott King gave public approval of homosexuality, black people living in America though free are still highly living in poverty. Yes, some black individuals and family have risen up in class some making it to Congress and one even becoming president but as a whole the mass majority of black individuals are still living in poverty. Black on black crime is still high. Many black children still wake up each day with absent fathers. Some don't even know who their biological daddy. Even some of the famous black people who make it to celebrity status and give black youngsters someone to look up to at times end up living a messed up life in front of the cameras dancing with drugs, infidelity, narcissism, witchcraft, and just plain questionable lifestyles (ex. Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Eazy E, OJ Simpson, etc...).
Black Americans used to be well known for gathering in church on Sundays, having praying moms and grandmothers, as well as a father who was strict as well as a solid family backbone. Now many of those father figures are gone, replaced by convicts, sugar daddies, and players. Living in my twenties I encountered many conversations with young black adults who believed hitting this or that woman or women was a higher priority than finding that one good woman to marry, build a family, and raise children with.
There is nothing wrong with honoring Dr King. What he did and the life he lead was heroic but there is a King who is even better, greater then the man. The King of kings, Jesus Christ, came down to earth to die for each and every single one of us on the cross. He gave His life and respect from the world up for our sakes so that we can have an opportunity to redeem ourselves and spend eternity with Him. I am not an expert on Dr King but him being a pastor, I feel pretty sure that he would rather us adore the King, Jesus than adore him. Dr King can't save us. Jesus can.
15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. I Timothy 6:15-16.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords. Revelations 19:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18
Jesus is not only the King, but the King of kings and oh if Black Americans, White Americans, poor Americans, Americans of other cultures, Americans in general, if they would only grasp this fact and live it they would receive much more joy and satisfaction that would last far beyond January 20, 2014. Their joy would be eternal. But now while media America, the politically correct watchdog groups begin incorporating Dr Kings dream with feminism, homosexual rights, and so on the dream speech is beginning to turn into a repeated murmur as it begins to lose its moral effect. It is time for Christians living in America to grab something that is much more than just a dream. It is time for Christians, all people in America to grab their Bibles and begin reading about Jesus. Jesus is the reality that will save your life.
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