![]() Our capacity to deal creatively with shattered dreams is ultimately determined by our faith in God. and B.C., so that even the life of Caesar must be dated by his name. ![]() Strength to LoveĮvil may so shape events that Caesar will occupy a palace and Christ a cross, but one day that same Christ will rise up and split history into A.D. God’s unbroken hold on us is something that will never permit us to feel right when we do wrong or to feel natural when we do the unnatural. As he makes folly his bedfellow, a nagging inner voice tells him that he is born for eternity. As he trails in the dust, something reminds him that he is made for the stars. Transformed Nonconformistĭespite man’s tendency to live on low and degrading planes, something reminds him that he is not made for that. Willingly they sacrificed fame, fortune and life itself on behalf of the cause they knew to be right. We need to recapture the Gospel glow of the early Christians, who were nonconformists in the truest sense of the word and refused to shape their witness according to the mundane patterns of the world. There is an element of goodness that he can never slough off. No matter what he does, you see God’s image there. And when you come to the point that you look in the face of every man and see deep down within him what religion calls ‘the image of God,’ you begin to love him in spite of. The person who hates you most has some good in him even the nation that hates you most has some good in it even the race that hates you most has some good in it. Forgiveness is not an occasional act it is a permanent attitude. Loving Your EnemiesĪ man cannot forgive up to 490 times without forgiveness becoming a part of the habit structure of his being. But Jesus recognized that love is greater than like. ‘Like’ is a sentimental and affectionate word. We should be happy that (Jesus) did not say ‘Like your enemies.’ It is impossible to like some people. Worship is as much a part of the human organism as the rising of the sun is to the cosmic order. Science deals mainly with facts, religion deals with values. Science gives man knowledge which is power, religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science investigates, religion interprets. And if you don’t have a deep and patient faith, you aren’t going to be able to make it. ![]() The problems of life will begin to overwhelm you disappointments will begin to beat upon the door of your life like a tidal wave. Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumphant beat of the drums of Easter. Evil is ultimately doomed by the powerful, insurgent forces of good. There seems to be a tension at the very core of the universe. The whole history of life is the history of a struggle between good and evil. So when Jesus says ‘Love your enemies,’ he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that. Never must the church tire of reminding men that they have a moral responsibility to be intelligent. Although crucified by hate, he responded with aggressive love. He did not seek to overcome evil with evil. He knew that the old eye-for-eye philosophy would leave everyone blind. Jesus eloquently affirmed from the cross a higher law. ![]() We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart. It is pretty difficult to imagine a single person having, simultaneously, the characteristics of the serpent and the dove, but this is what Jesus expects. He was just 25 when he was appointed pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, largely based on his ability to preach.Ĭhristianity has always insisted that the cross we bear precedes the crown we wear. ![]() King, who was assassinated in 1968, was a fourth-generation preacher who earned a divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary and a doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University. And his acclaimed book “Strength to Love” is not a scholarly dissertation, but a collection of sermons delivered and polished over the course of his tragically abbreviated career. “In the quiet recesses of my heart, I am fundamentally a clergyman, a Baptist preacher,” the Rev. But before he became a champion of social justice and one of the most admired Americans of the 20th century, King was an ordained minister who said his first calling was his greatest commitment. Editor’s note: This story was originally published Jan. ![]()
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