As I think about some of the inner conflicts I have and those I hope to help resolve in my local community and even further reaching throughout my country, I think of Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and sermons. He calls me to action every time.
John posted this over the weekend and this quote has been ringing in my mind for a few days:
“This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists,” King says. “Our planet teeters on the brink of atomic annihilation; dangerous passions of pride, hatred, and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; truth lies prostrate on the rugged hills of nameless calvaries; and men do reverence before false gods of nationalism and materialism. The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.”John goes on to comment that King's book:
Strength to Love is both practical and evangelical. King was not a theorist. Developing a framework for understanding nonviolence is only helpful if it leads to nonviolent living. Abstract notions about justice are useless (if not dangerous) if they don’t lead to its pursuit. These sermons are messages from a shepherd to his flock. King took seriously the demands of the Gospel on the soul and society, which is to say he took Jesus at his word when Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” And, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.”Peace won't come passively. We must work for peace and it may require a significant sacrifice of me. I want to be surrounded by others who will walk arm-in-arm for peace.
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