Power of One

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. day I'm asking some questions. How are we doing at loving mercy and upholding justice? As a church, and in our personal lives...is there still prejudice in my heart? Also, how are we doing at loving all tribes and tongues as God mandates? Are we praying for the Indians oversea but ignoring the ones that live next door? Are we giving money to the Guatemalean mission, but not loving the Spanish-speakers we meet here day to day? Hard questions, but good questions to ask...

I'm also thinking about Martin Luther King, Jr's life and I'm reminded of the possibility of one life to make change. Bono said it well: "One man came..." Whether it's Rosa Parks, with her simple act...or a revolutionary like MLK, marching, writing, giving his life for the cause...and many more along the way, the entire story of the civil rights movement is full of individuals enacting change.

I think of other agents of change: Martin Luther himself, taking his stand; Sir Thomas Moore; William Wilberforce, fighting the slave trade his whole life (watch Amazing Grace if you haven't yet); Lawrence Tynes (watch the game-winning kick from last night if you haven't yet--and I admit, he doesn't exactly rank up there, but you can't deny how many games have been won or loss by an individual, the kicker).
Aside from that last one, these were all revolutionaries, advocates standing in the gap for the oppressed, unrepresented...
....just as Jesus did and does for us.

What legacy will we leave? What cause are we surrendering our single life to? Am I being like Christ, as an advocate for the poor and oppressed? Well, enough hard questions for today....