ONE LIFE - ONE LEGACY

Today we are commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His place in the American narrative of pursing the ideal is one that stands equal to that of President Lincoln. Historically speaking, that is high praise but I honestly believe that it is merited as King's ambition was to move our country to the ideals of its profession, to be a place where freedom could be tasted as a genuinely lived experience.

The major question that many are seeking to answer is, to quote an old popular movie, are we there yet? The answer depends on one's understanding of what the dream really meant and their life's proximity to that meaning. Yet, I want to ask a different question: Have we become yet? Of all that King did and said what is most recited are portions of his "I Have A Dream speech. Of that speech we most remember these words:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where

they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their

character.”

If we are to be the nation that lives out these ideals we must become a nation of character. This character is one that is layered in humility, love, equity, sacrifice and godliness. King's mind was nurtured in the culture of the black church and, therefore, his understanding of freedom was rooted in the values expressed in the heart of the gospel.

King sought to move the nation forward, not only, in the ideal of freedom as a concept, but to a freedom that is rooted in the created design of God. Therefore, to reclaim the dream we must become models of that dream in our character, individually and collectively. In other words, King was calling us to not simply be good people but to be godly people whose lives illustrated the character of Jesus Christ. We must reclaim this dream but here is a statement that will, perhaps, be controversial: we cannot reclaim or embody that dream is we are not men and women whose lives are captured and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe the reason we are not seeing King's dream realized more and more is due to the fact that those who can best model the dream - Christians - are not, ourselves, living according to the ideals of the godly character King was championing.

No doubt many will seek, and have sought, to undermine King's dream because of the reality of his own moral imperfections and we may hear an abundance of such voices today. It is true that he was a flawed man and, for those of us who would defend him, we cannot offer the simple retort that he was flawed like all of us. He was and, yes, we are, but his position makes his imperfections heightened. It does not make his immorality worse but, by consequence and the extent of impact, his is more negatively pronounced.

So, how do we settle this problem? I will never forget the words of a seasoned man of God in response to a question about the struggle involved with living what he preaches. He said, "We all preach better than we are!" There it is!. That is the solution! The pastor's words were not to justify any level of hypocrisy. Instead, he was saying that, even in seeking to live godly every minute of the day, we all fall short of the ideal of the Bible. I think we see can deduce this truth from Jesus' words to those who listened to the Pharisees. Jesus commanded them: "... do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice" (Matthew 23:3). Jesus does not negate their words even though he condemns their character. They spoke, and we all speak, better than we are.

This means two things simultaneously, positive and negatively, as it pertains to character: A person can be flawed and, yet, their words can still (must?) have guiding significance. I think this is how we can remember and continue to honor the legacy of Dr. King. This does not mean that his hypocrisy is absolved because of the content of his words. For these actions he will stand before the Lord and give an account as we all will someday. Where he stands with the Lord none of us knows but, I submit to you, that his eternal standing with the Lord has no bearing on the enduring value of his words.

On this day, where character may be spoken of more than any other time throughout the year, let us not miss the truth that the legacy of King, as transformational as it was and is, is marred because of the truth of his indiscretions. His words are still as powerfully shaping and guiding as they were when he spoke them, but his legacy now includes actions that get in the way of remembering and valuing his words and contributions to this country. History, unfortunately, cannot change but if he had years to continue his work, perhaps he would have corrected his flaws and had an ending of character fruitfulness that far outweighed his character flaws.

The same is the case for us, so let us take heed. We cannot change where we have been or what we have done, but we can shape the remainder of our lives so that the godly character that we exude will be more pronounced, over time such, that becomes that which truly defines us. The way to a great legacy is to be perfect - not morally so since none of us can be that. But to be perfect in our knowledge that we are imperfect. When imperfect people have perfect knowledge of their imperfection they not only live differently, but they confess and repent more. Greatness is not having a legacy of perfection but one of continual seeking of cleansing and forgiveness from the Lord and offering it to others.