The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God has come near. Believe in the good news.
It can be hard to believe in the Good News, when so much bad news surrounds us. It takes a special kind of courage, a special kind of faith to continue to believe in the good news of Jesus Christ in the thick of evil.
Today we honor such a man, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who continued to proclaim justice and honor in the face of fire hoses and death threats, beatings and betrayals. But he didn’t just believe in “good news” in the abstract – he lived in relationship with the Good News himself, our Lord Jesus. He followed Jesus into those streets of battle and halls of power. He allowed Jesus to transform his life as he allied himself with God’s mission of justice. He gave voice to God’s dream, and allowed God’s dream to claim him, to take priority over other dreams he may have had for his own life and safety.
Each news cycle reminds us more starkly that the dream of racial equality continues to elude us. Today I pray we will do more than honor the man who helped bring us this far; I pray we will align ourselves with his Lord and let him lead us to our part in God’s dream. Until every child knows her intrinsic worth and can grow into his fullest potential unthwarted by racism or economic, political, or social injustice, we have a distance yet to go. "We've come this far by faith," says one civil rights hymn. I believe it will require faith to get to the promised land Martin saw.
How might we today proclaim the proximity of God’s realm?
How might we bring God’s justice into our own situations?
What will we say or do or pray?
How will you follow Jesus today?
What will we say or do or pray?
How will you follow Jesus today?
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