Pastor Rudy's HeartBeat

Yesterday- we as a country observed another Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  The theme of this year's holiday was- "REMEMBER!  ACT!  CELEBRATE!  A DAY ON- NOT A DAY OFF!"

All over the country, millions of Americans took place in honoring Dr. King's legacy by taking part in a wide range of service projects- conductiong food drives- painting schools and community centers, recruiting mentors for needy youth, and bringing meals to homebound neighbors to name a few...

It was another great American man, Jackie Robinson, who once said, "Life is not a spectator sport.  If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you are wasting your life."  Mine too Jackie and the last place I want to be is on the bench if the real action is on the field!

And to not make any personal, conscious, practical and specific steps forward to help make Martin Luther King's dream come true is to waste the legacy of what this man was all about.  It would be as absurd as saying, "I like the man- but ignored his message."

It was JFK who said, "We can't really move forward until we take the time to recognize where we have been."  So it might be wise to take some time to review what Dr. Kin's dream truly was.  To quote from his famous speech made on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial- he said:

"I have a dream today...  This is our hope.  This is the faith that I go back to the South with.  With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.  With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.  With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

Jesus said- "You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free."  And the truth is that if men and women are going to share the same space on this planet- as a people- as a nation- and as a community- then we are going to have to give up this silly notion and myth that there is one particular people group that is better than another.

The truth is that we have all been made in the image of God and even He is no respector of persons that he would love one race, tribe, color or troup more than another.  What makes the creation act so differently than the Creator?

It is the broken parts of human nature that falsely buys into the lie that to be successful is to be better and to be better means to bully another race, religion or creed.  All this crooked belief system ever leads to is the hatred and unacceptable treatment through the ages of the Indians, the Jews, the Blacks, the Asians, the Hispanic, the Italians, the Polish- and the beating up goes on and on...

IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO CHANGE OUR MINDS- WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO ALLOW GOD TO COMPLETELY CHANGE OUR HEARTS!  AND HIS KINDNESS LEADS TO OUR REPENTANCE!

If Dr. King's Dream is ever going to really have anything to do with me then we must proactively act upon the following:

1.  WE MUST VIEW EACH OTHER AS GOD DOES!

When people look at each other, they see a white man, a black man, a tall man, a short man, and even a bald man!  When God looks at us- He sees only our hearts.  He doesn't let the package get in the way of examining the contents!  We might not be physically blind- but do we really see?

Do you know what?  I were to place a black man's heart and a white man's heart and a rich man's heart and a poor man's heart on a table in front of you- you would not be able to tell the difference at all- BECAUSE ALL HEARTS LOOK THE SAME!  And when an individual is viewed with dignity and respect- he or she rises up from the shallowness of society's labels to have the opportunity to become what Heaven has always intended them to be!

2.  WE MUST ENCOURAGE OUR CHILDREN TO DREAM DREAMS BIGGER THAN WHAT IS SO THEY CAN LEAD US TO WHAT SHOULD BE!

I liked what Bishop Robinson said yesterday at a breakfast honoring Dr. King.  He said- "YOU CAN KILL THE DREAMER- BUT YOU CAN'T KILL THE DREAM!"

Oh but people try!  I remember when I was in Jr. High having an Art Teacher who gave us an assigment to design our ultimate "Dream House."  I built my home to look just like Shea Stadium complete with an indoor baseball field.  The Art Teacher gave me a "D" because he pronounced it not realistic enough.  Was it me- or did he fail to recognize that his challenge to us was to build a DREAM HOUSE and not one that already existed with bricks and sticks! 

Prejudice is caught more than taught.  What are you throwing around today?  Shame on any of us who get their kicks by stomping on the dreams of our children.  Shame on any of us who poison a dream of tomorrow by filtering it through our bigotry of today!  Even God said that in the last days our young men and women would dream dreams and those dreams are necessary because we still haven't yet got it right by being awake today! 

There is not an individual in this country who is really free until we all enjoy the same freedoms.  Again I quote Jackie Robinson who said, "A life is not important except in the impact that it has on the lives of others."  Dr. King refused to let others' small minds stuff his vision into a status quo box!  He would not just sit back and allow an inequality to go on unchallenged where rulers were not just and the rules were not fair!  And I admire a man who won't stop singing just because one sourpuss doesn't like the music!  Dr. King could have kept his ideas to himself- but only a selfish man could do that.  But a man who knew that his days on earth were numbered- and that his own precious life was a gift to call this world to sing in prefect harmony-Dr. King was more the REAL THING than any soft drink could claim to be!

Thank you Dr. King for trying to reach us by never stop preaching to us what a divine sound we all could make if we could just learn to make music together!  Today is as good as day as any to grab a hymnbook and sing the words of the old Negro Spiritual- "WE SHALL OVERCOME...." because we will not be undermined!  And we can vocalize that sacred truth because we are willing to not just talk equality- but walk it in the way we treat the smallest of God's creatures- with integrity- with honest effort and with a sincere love.  For if we do that- we keep the dream alive and take another constructive step to making the dream come true!