Looking Back
Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Back to Galleries>>“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
We could find no better sentiment — no higher calling — than this, as Foundry’s focus for the new year. Dr. King’s words are prophetic and sacred because they echo God’s words. Scripture clearly tells us the greatest commandment is to love. First, we are to love God above all else. The second half of the commandment is a natural result of obedience to the first half. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Devotion to God leaves no room for hate. Adopting God’s values crowds out human tendencies toward division and prejudice. Loving our neighbors as ourselves eliminates the “us versus them” mentality because it unites us. “They” are no longer people to be feared, reviled, or even tolerated. Rather, they, like us, are children of God, created to be in relationship with the Creator and one another.
We might believe that we don’t harbor hatred or bias, but Dr. King’s birthday is a good opportunity to re-examine our actions and our thought-lives. Do we love regardless of gender, race, ideology or sexual orientation? Is the Muslim as welcome in our homes as the Christian? Are the unwashed, homeless or mentally ill worthy of our time or invited to our churches? What about the loud, embarrassing people….the immigrants…even those express their own bigotry and prejudice? Are we able to show God’s grace to them? Sometimes, loving others as ourselves is a tall order!
At Foundry UMC, we value the conversation that Dr. King started more than 40 years ago, and that Jesus Christ revealed more than 2,000 years ago. We don’t have all the answers — but we believe the questions are important. Check out the websites below to further explore these issues.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
The United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Peace and Justice Program