Good Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Day! Whew, we need to do something about that title. Yes, the man was named that and had those titles, but is his legacy to us in the human-bestowed titles or in the God-inspired words? News flash - the man we celebrate today was not perfect. There are dark rumors about this thing or that thing. Oh dear! What can we say? George Washington, not perfect. Abraham Lincoln, not perfect. Eisenhower, nope; Reagan, negative; Bush or Clinton... okay, we won't even go there. We don't have any perfect historical heroes... except one. Strangely to us, this one perfect historical figure did not rule over any nation. Even his own people rejected him and had him executed. Pilate had the title 'King of the Jews" placed over his head on the cross, but it was more of a derogatory remark than an acknowledgment of our Lord's true royalty. Jesus came to earth in human form and did none of the things the world celebrates today. He didn't even do the warrior or ruler things the world celebrated back then. But somehow we know that he alone lived in sinless perfection. The world would argue with that belief; it must be the Holy Spirit given to us that leads us to that conclusion.Praise God that the perfect Son of God would accept the all too imperfect sons and daughters of humans.
When we celebrate the legacy of a human, we get the great deeds or the humble sacrifice, but we also get the wrinkles and spots too. I'm not talking about the ones we get as we get older, but the imperfections in our conduct, those secret or not-so-secret sins that tell us of our need for salvation in Christ alone. Paul had a checkered past to rival even the historical figures we hold up as examples of what not to become in life. King David did to Uriah what few of us would have dared to do even before our salvation. We all have terrible sins on our record. When we compare our sins to another person's we miss the point. Any sin is terrible. The words are redundant when paired. Every sin is a rebellion against God. We don't need to dig up dirt on our human heroes; we all know the dirt is there. We all need to realize our need for the mercy of Christ.
Yes, the Reverend Doctor needed mercy and grace just as you and I do this morning. I tend to step up on my little soap box when the holiday arrives and some wag in the media starts in on how King, Washington, Lincoln, or any other celebrated life had some skeletons in their closet. We know they do. Let us forgive them too and celebrate a sacrifice for our great nation under God.
Praise the name of the Lord!Bucky
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