Ok, here goes. Today is Martin Luther King day. We had a celebration at the university commemorating Dr. King's work. The first part was great. The main speech was very well done and had some nice poetic elements. However, I was saddened by it.
Dr. King had a dream that all persons would be treated equally because the God he served does not show favoritism (Romans 2:8-9) and there is no strata of status in His kingdom as far as being along racial or gender lines (Galatians 3:28). However, God does have set roles for men and women due to the way He designed them (Titus 2). In Him, we are all separate but equal.
In the speech, God was removed as deity. Instead, the creation was set as deity. This shouldn't be because the Creation displays the glory of its Creator (Romans 1:20, Psalm 19, Genesis 1 and many other verses). In this speech, 'mother earth' was prayed for and the speaker acknowledged this prayer was a substitute to the Lord's Prayer. That made me almost cry.
Throughout the speech, humanity was labeled as holy, pure. Our inner selves was where we would get strength. How can this be if we are all fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23)? Our inner selves as a reservoir of love was where true community would be found. Mmmm... maybe not really? 'Mother Earth' was groaning for all of us to love her more, to love each other more. That's somewhat Romans 8:20-22, but actually, the Creation groans for the redemption of God's children, so that God can redeem and make Creation new.
What answer, then, is true community? It is Christ. In Acts, the church stayed together because of the Holy Spirit enabling them to love each other. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) is what allows us to have true community with our neighbor. Our fallen selves hinder it.
That difference, that removal of our Creator from the celebration of King's work made me sad. Made me angry that so many people - men, women, and children of Fort Collins were not told this truth of Salvation, but deceived by this post-modernism. The community here, while it is important, and especially Believers should show it, will not last here. We long for a true eternal community with God as its head, where He rules with justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:6-8).
Dr. King wanted his society to reflect a God that is righteous, loving, and just. His hope was ultimately in God, and ours should be to.
That is a sobering observation. In fact, if God is ultimately the one who administers justice and the one who is the standard for equality, then these speakers are actually weakening the power of King's message. What do you think MLK would have said to their speech?
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