Martin Luther King Day

Today is the day that our nation celebrates the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is good for us to celebrate the positive impact of individuals who fight for what's right. It is particularly good to see the vision of such people come to fruition in the society we live in.

William Wilberforce dedicated his life to improving the morals of English society and to the total and complete abolition of the slave trade. We can read his writings and look at the world around us and realize that his dreams have been fulfilled. We can celebrate the life of William Wilbeforce, rejoicing in the knowledge that what he worked so hard to accomplish has become a reality today.

But what of Dr. Martin Luther King's dream? We all know what his dream was—he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in our nation's capitol and told us what that dream was. Dr. King said that he had a dream that one day all men "will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Has Dr. King's dream become a reality?

In a day when the majority of people in our society proclaim that we are making personal attacks against anyone whose character we call into question, I think the answer must be "no." In a day when a Barack Obama can run for the presidency of our nation and although he never brings up the topic of the color of his skin, we hear non-stop reports (both favorable and negative) about him being "the first black man to run for the presidency," and we hear about folks complaining to Oprah Winfrey for campaigning for "the black man instead of the woman" candidate.

These are not what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., fought and died for. May we all commit ourselves to viewing and judging those around us not by the color of their skin or the nation of their origin, but by the content of their character. And I would add to that the need to judge them also by their understanding and belief in the death and resurrection of the Son of God who came to save people from every tribe, tongue, and nation—not because of the color of their skin, or because of the content of their character, but because of their great need of a Savior. I don't recommend judging them to disenfranchise them, but to target them for the proclamation of the gospel because if they do not yet believe in Jesus Christ, this is their greatest need.