I am so glad that Jack started off our day today with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech (on TV). I just added (on TV) as an afterthought because I had this funny idea that you guys were thinking he woke us up quoting “I Have A Dream”. That would have been something!
But anyway, the whole family watched the speech and it was so stirring. I wanted to write a few comments about it, and there’s a link as well if you want to watch it.
*As we were watching Dr. King speak, Selah says, “Wow. He is really in love with Jesus!”
*I felt really shocked that it was only 50 years ago that such blatant and ridiculous injustice was practiced (and legal) in our country. What were they thinking? That was not that long ago.
*I liked the part of his speech about “I have a dream that little black boys and little black girls around the country will hold hands with little white boys and little white girls and live as brothers and sisters.” It makes me happy to see that in my home, and it makes me happy that my generation is stomping out old beliefs and prejudices that would feel that white people and black people can’t make a family together. I was like, “Preach, brother!!”
*Later today I was reminded (by a t-shirt I was wearing actually) that in ’63 when MLK made his speech, African-Americans were being oppressed, and in ’73 the oppression of the unborn began. Friends, it is the same thing. We are trying to make members of our society invisible, nameless, and voiceless…literally. We must stand for the rights of the unborn. Period.
*Lastly, I was proud of the “whites” who stood with the “blacks” during this time in history. There is something so precious about a safe and accepted person taking up the cause of those in danger, those rejected. It is so beautiful. I can’t remember what book I read or who said this, but it’s just the idea that “if you can’t have freedom, I certainly won’t either…I won’t enjoy mine, until you have your’s.” Oh, that is so Jesus. I want to be like that!
I wrote a song a while back called “To the End” and it’s going to be on my next CD…if there is a next CD. I want to share the chorus of it, because it is about this very thing. I wrote it during our adoption journey, but I wasn’t just talking about adoption at all. I was talking about abortion, modern day slavery, child trafficking, the persecuted church, or even people with cancer. I’m talking about standing for love and justice, with the oppressed, and making it your personal business to intervene in any way the Lord lets you.
“’cause when your morning comes, I wanna have fought for you all night
I wanna see you stare in wonder at the beauty of His might
and when your shouts of freedom echo all across the kingdom
I wanna stand and sing with you…I wanna be there, too…
This is about who we are right now, this is about who we are right now, this is about who we are right now to the end…”
Preach it sista….and that is how vision of hope marches on. And about this next CD thingy: Do a few Acoustic Cafe’s to raise funds so it can get done…I’m just saying.
Thanks John! And I’ll be talking to you about that CD soon.