Alveda King: Remembering MLK in 2020
On Jan. 8, 2018, President Trump signed the MLK Park order, designating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home as a national historic park.
Isaac Newton Farris Jr., Bruce LeVell and I attended.
Across two centuries in America, in the month of January, we have taken a day to honor the legacy and memory of my uncle the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A few days later, we March for Life.
When peripherals collide, convergence is imminent; so it’s likely no coincidence that three occasions coincide: MLK Day, the March for Life in Washington, D.C. and the Walk for Life in San Francisco.
Even though widespread conflict and mutual distrust abound, we still have a Dream. So it’s more vital than ever for us to reflect on the message of faith, love and life that my uncle shared with the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of God who endeavored to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. MLK saw humanity as God’s creation and he hoped and dreamed that we would become brothers and sisters.
King saw humanity as being “from one blood,” from which God created the human race (Acts 17:26). King’s faith and love guided his commitment to his community and to the world. God was the source of King’s calling to the great mission of uniting men and women of different faiths and ethnic groups.
My uncle viewed love as the power that would redeem humankind. God’s creative love is the power that rules the cosmos, and God’s grace gives us the power to make brothers and sisters out of men and women, boys and girls.
“I have decided to stick with love,” my uncle famously said. “Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
Today, hate still retains its grip over too many human hearts — but we can change that if we follow my uncle’s example and choose agape love. Hate is truly a tremendous burden, and we as a nation need to remember that there is a better alternative.
In order to prevent hatred from corrupting our hearts, we must allow God’s love to flow through us. Only through agape love can we become what God intended us to be, brothers and sisters of one human family.
There is so much to love in today’s America, with President Trump providing all Americans the opportunity to live lives devoted to life, family, community and God.
President Trump (America’s most pro-life president ever) has worked to unite us as Americans, dedicated to our country and the Gospel, by working in service to our nation as a whole.
We need to continue the hard work of bringing Americans together. We can do that by deepening our faith and following the example of Jesus Christ, as my uncle encouraged us to do.
Through his faith, love and service, Martin Luther King Jr. helped to make America a more righteous country, while recommitting us to the principles of equality that guided our founding.
Through both his words and his example, MLK reminded millions of people of God’s love for them. His words continue to do so to this day.
My uncle was just one man, but his influence endures because he was dedicated to his God and to his brothers and sisters of all creeds and colors. When we reflect on how much one man, devoted to faith and love and the teachings of Jesus Christ, was able to accomplish, we should all take heart and have faith and love.
God has a plan for us, and through prayer, love and faith, we can better understand and follow that plan.
“This is GOD’s Word on the subject: … ‘I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out — plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
“‘When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.’ GOD ’s Decree. ‘I’ll turn things around for you. … Bring you home … You can count on it. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen,'” Jeremiah 29:10-14 (The Message).
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