On my way home from Jamaica, I stopped in D.C. for a quick visit with my Mother. I had a fews hours during the day, so I went to visit the new Martin Luther King memorial on the historic D.C. mall. I was shocked at the size and majestic feel of it. But something else moved me to write this entry about the memorial.
Surrounding the memorial is a black granite wall with various quotes from Dr King. As you read the quotes, you get a feel for what made him what he was, and what motivated his service to humanity. Remember, long before Dr King was a civil rights activist, he was a christian minister of the gospel. I was saddened that Dr Kings love for Jesus wasn't highlighted at his memorial. I listened to his interview at the King center in Atlanta a few years ago, and I remember what he said. He told the interviewer, "I don't want to be remembered for all of my awards and the fact that I won a nobel prize". In his mountain top sermon he said "I just want to do Gods will". His belief in freedom, was based on the bibles teaching of freedom, not politics.
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| The MLK Memorial in Washington D.C. |
Dr King didn't just want people free politically, he wanted them to be liberated. Liberation is a much stronger word, it suggests being out from under the control of another. A murderer can be free from jail, yet still be under the control of the violent spirit the made him a murderer. Real freedom is to be liberated. Its very clear to me now as a minister of the gospel myself, that anything someone gives to you, they also will be able to take from you. Thats not freedom. Giving someone something with strings attached, is not freedom. The bible teaches us that Jesus Christ sets men free. Jesus comes to live inside of us, forgiving our sins, and changing us by his word and spirit, so that devices and behaviors that bind us, are no longer a part of our desire. Christ anchors us morally so that we won't destroy our future and families, putting them into bondage. Dr King believed and trusted in Jesus.
I left the memorial thinking, the world only appreciates a small part of what this great man stood for. Today many people benefit from Dr Kings fight for freedom, but not as many are enjoying the liberation offered by Dr Kings savior, Jesus Christ.
