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Sunday, April 6, 2008
MLK- visionary or trouble maker?
Four decades after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. fell to an assassin’s bullet, colleagues and biographers offer many answers to the question: What if he had lived? Of all the “might be’s” and “what if’s,” Martin Luther King III feels sure of one thing. Had his father lived, the country would be closer to realizing the “beloved community” he’d envisioned. Still, he feels his father’s guiding force pulling us inexorably in that direction. “From my perspective, his light still shines,” he says. “His voice, his message, we’re living every day. We’re embracing more and more. We’re not as close to it as I would like to see us, but we’re still living it. We’re still moving toward it.” The Rev. Joseph Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King and marched alongside him, doesn’t think time would have changed his friend’s mind. “I think Martin was a preacher, and I doubt very much if he would have wanted to subject himself to the need to compromise and play certain games that are requisite to political candidacy,” says Lowery. “I think he would have preferred to do what he did best, and that was point out to ALL candidates and ALL officials … `Thus sayeth the Lord.’” {Associated Press}
To me, Martin Luther King Jr. was a man possessed by the gospel of Jesus Christ! As I’ve done research on his “DREAM” for America, it’s amazing how he often referred to bible scripture as a point of basis for his beliefs which resulted in action. I’ve always believed that this Preacher turned civil rights leader received a vision for our nation- took it to his church, then to his nation!
As we commemorate his 40 year assassination, let’s chat about what you personally think about this preacher? Was he a man of God driven by purpose, or a trouble maker? In your mind, was his message and actions based on biblical principles, or his own ideas? Was his vision for the nation for all people, or just black people?
