Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
In school, everyone learns about Martin Luther King Jr. He lead the fight for civil rights in the 1960s. One of the most notable moments of the movement was during “The March On Washington” with his “I Have a Dream” speech. King is a man who enable and created many changes in this nation.
It is because of King that, today, we have laws protecting the rights of minorities. He promoted equality based on race and in doing so changed a nation. Today it is not uncommon for people of all races, ethnicities, and creeds to work alongside one another in high level positions across the nation… and its only been three generations.
Without King, our nation would look completely different. But King is a person to commemorate each year for more than just his role in creating civil equality in the United States. He is someone we should remember because of the change he inspired globally and his willingness to step out of his life of comfort for a cause he believed in.
Before King became the figure head of the Civil Rights Movement, he was a pastor in the black community in Birmingham, Alabama with a wife and kids. This man had a choice to make, he could live comfortably at home with his family or he could risk everything for a cause he believed in and was passionate about. But, as we all know, King “had a dream,” one of a world where blacks and white could live together in harmony, and so he took risks, organized boycotts, rallies, and marches to peacefully promote his vision for a better world.
King ended up giving up everything he had. He was arrested, his house was bombed, his family was threatened, and eventually he was assassinated. King paid the price for his efforts to create an equal society. He was killed because of his beliefs and I believe it was a price he was ready and willing to pay.
Every January, we should commemorate King not only for his involvement in creating equality but also his courage in the face of adversity. No matter what opposition threw his way, King stood by his beliefs and continued his work. Because of his unwillingness to back down, he was able to create change. Because of his willingness to give up everything, his dream is being fulfilled.
Remembering King should not only consist of listening to his speech or studying the civil rights movement. It should include following in his footsteps. We all have a dream, right? And we all have to be willing to take risks in order to see that dream become a reality.
My dream is to reach every lost person on the planet earth, I don’t care where they’re from, if I know their language, what they’ve done, or what they’ve seen. I want to die knowing that every person on earth is going to heaven because if I don’t, I will die with a broken heart. Yes, I know that this is not possible, but it is possible for me to die knowing that I “den[ied] myself and t[ook] up my cross and follow[ed] the Lord” (Matthew 16:24). I am willing to risk everything I have, including the heart inside my chest, to see a glimpse of my dream come true. I am willing to give up my life and follow the Lord.
Without Risk, our dreams will NEVER become a REALITY. Martin Luther King Jr. risked everything he had so that his dream might become a reality. Everyone has a dream, will you commemorate the life of King by learning from him? Are YOU willing to take risks to see YOUR dream become a reality?
Leave a comment and Tell me, what is your dream? No matter how big, how small, how possible, or how feasible, we all have dreams and I wanted to know what YOURS is. Just write, “I Have a Dream . . .”
