MLK’s Spirit Is What He Would Want Us to Remember

Today I read this from FRC:

Forty years ago, an assassin gunned down a spirited visionary whose days were spent crusading against the very violence and bigotry that ultimately took his life. Taken in the prime of his years and the height of his influence, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King would never live to see his dream of racial harmony realized.

In the four decades since Rev. King’s death, the gulf between black and white remains the most intense divide in America-largely because we have sought unity primarily through networking, public policy, or lobbying techniques. Few seem to understand that the solution is the same as it was 40 years ago. We must recognize what Rev. King did-that racism is not just a social problem in America; it is at root a spiritual problem.

If we are to change the social climate of our nation, a cause to which Rev. King gave his very life, we must unite around a biblical worldview that can include all races and generations. That challenge is made more difficult in this new era, when simply to speak from a pulpit and to call for righteousness in the land strikes some secularists as a threat to our core liberties.

As Reverend King said, “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.” It is time for America to see the church as an unbiased representative of Christ. As a nation, we must rally behind clear-thinking, visionary leaders who will work for a nation that is both colorblind and infused with character. Martin Luther King understood the unique place churches have in our society. If we are to honor his memory, we must defend and rebuild the place of faith communities in bridging the racial gap.

If you fully understand what Martin Luther King, Jr. was all about, you’d understand that merely peace in this lifetime isn’t enough.

In the words of a Switchfoot song: “We were meant to live for so much more. Have we lost ourselves?”