Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a man whom I don’t know enough about, but from reflecting on his writings I am inspired. He spoke honestly about social and political injustice. He was a voice for peace, but a peace without conformity or complacency. He lived the life he preached, and the results of that are marked with the blood of his assassination in 1968.

Even though it would be easy to write him off as a great humanitarian, I don’t think that is his story. Don’t get me wrong, he made incredible strides and accomplishments for humanity. It is however impossible to separate what he did from the relationship and divine inspiration he had from our God.

In his sermon writings on “The Answer to a Perplexing Question,”¹ he referenced a scripture in Matthew 17:19: “Why could not we cast him out?” Jesus’ disciples were unable to cast out an evil spirit from a man’s son.

We learn from Dr. King that men throughout the history of mankind have attempted to “remove evil” from this earth, but humanitarian efforts are not enough. When we base the foundation of our lives on scientific knowledge, eugenics now becomes justifiable on moral grounds. An atomic bomb becomes a solution to a problem. However, Dr. King is clear that science itself is not corrupt:

“Nor would I minimize the importance of science and the great contributions which have come in the wake of the Renaissance. These have lifted us from the stagnating valleys of superstition and half-truth to the sunlit mountains of creative analysis and objective appraisal.”^1a

There is another method of “removing evil” from this earth. We learn that others prefer the method of “praying and waiting,” or in other words, just waiting on God to rid the world of evil. However, Dr. King is clear that removing responsibility from ourselves is not the answer:

“The idea that man expects God to do everything leads inevitably to a callous misuse of prayer. For if God does everything, man then asks him for anything, and God becomes little more than a ‘cosmic bellhop’ who is summoned for every trivial need.”^1b

Neither methods of removing evil are successful, nor are these methods godly. Dr. King says, “We must pray earnestly for peace, but we must also work vigorously for disarmament and the suspension of weapon testing. We must use our minds as rigorously to plan for peace as we have used them to plan for war.”^1c God and man working together can accomplish great things. Jesus himself said, “…anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”² God gives us the grace and mercy, but we are the hands of feet of God on this earth.

Come, let us do greater works. Let us use our free will for good. Let us not leave the dream unfulfilled. Let us not become complacent.

Some stuff I referenced…

¹, Strength to Love by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Chapter 13
^1a, Page 130
^1b, Page 131
^1b, Page 132
², John 14:12

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Just a thought!

On a random note I will be taking a bit of a break, I’m getting married this Saturday and will be going on my honeymoon after Christmas, I’ll be back on the 7th day of the new year! I’ll post some pictures sometime later.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Rob

He really cared, and I really don’t understand why he’s gone. Kristen (who spent much more time with him in Sierra Leone) has written his amazing story, if you can just take some time to read about Pastor Sorie. He really has an amazing testimony.