Another Look At Freedom - The March on Washington

English: Dr. Martin Luther King giving his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington in Washington, D.C., on 28 August 1963. Español: Dr. Martin Luther King dando su discurso "Yo tengo un sueño" durante la Marcha sobre Washington por el trabajo y la libertad en Washington, D.C., 28 de agosto de 1963. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I took a break from my weekly post to view the march commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's historic march on Washington. Just as happened then, this march that took place on Saturday was a peaceful one. Of the estimated quarter million people who participated in 1963, only four arrests were made. So far this year no incidents have been reported. This is a true testimony of the proper use of freedom and an honor to the man who fought so hard for freedom and equality.

A few years ago I wrote a post on a similar topic. You can read it here.

Related articles

• Throngs to mark 'Dream' anniversary
• 50th anniversary of March on Washington
• March to focus on continued fight for civil rights

What Does Freedom Mean To You - And the Trayvon Martin Verdict

Like most of the nation, I too am reacting to the verdict in the slaying of Trayvon Martin. As I write this, many protests are taking place in various cities and social media commentary on this matter has just about reached explosive limits. As I tried to piece my thoughts together to write this post, I suddenly remembered two things:

1. Last week's post .  What does freedom mean to you written in commemoration of our nation's independence celebration. And as I think about the way this young man lost his life, I ask myself again, what does freedom mean to us all? Does it mean we are free to go wherever we want, wear whatever we want, do whatever we want? Trayvon Martin's parents and others (including myself) are asking themselves that question tonight.

2. The sermon on the mount. You may be wondering  what this has to do with Trayvon Martin or with freedom. Yesterday I happened to read this masterpiece sermon by our Lord Jesus Christ, famously known as The Sermon on The Mount.  Jesus delivered this over two thousand years ago, and it is still relevant today.  Let's look at some of His words:

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.'  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell" (Matthew 5 : 21 - 22).

 

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" ( 38 - 39).

 

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (43 - 45). 

 

And Trayvon Martin's father speaking to the Huffington Post said, "God forbid, if acquittal is handed down, we still put our faith in God, you know, it's out of our hands," he said. "There's nothing we can do and we'll continue to pray. And we'll continue to be the voice of Trayvon whether there's an acquittal (or) whether it's a guilty verdict." Trayvon Martin Hoodie Sunday

 

So right now, that's the attitude we ought to have. The best we can do as a nation is pray for the Martin family, the Zimmerman family, the judge, the jury, our legislators and everyone associated with this case. God, our Comforter, our Righteous Judge, our Jehovah Sharma sees everything and He is still in control. God bless.

 

 

What Does Freedom Mean To You

This past week America celebrated its two hundred and thirty seventh birthday as a nation. America, like other countries that have declared themselves independent, prides itself on being a free nation. But what does it really mean to be free? Are we, its citizens, free to do whatever we like? We know the answer to that question, don't we?

Yes, we do enjoy certain freedoms more than some other countries, but these freedoms come with constraints. For example, we enjoy the freedom to assemble, but if this assembly is considered disorderly, we will be stopped. As Christians, we enjoy being free from the law as laid out by Moses in the Old Testament, however, does that mean we are free to sin? This is the question that gets a lot of Christians confused, or gives them excuses to do whatever they like.

Just as we do not have the freedom to break the law as citizens of an earthly kingdom, we do not have the freedom to break the law as citizens of a heavenly kingdom. And in the same way if we break the law of the earthly kingdom we must appear before the judge, the same applies to God's laws. When we appear before the earthly judge, we should have an attorney to speak in our defense, otherwise we may be in big trouble. When we appear before God - the Heavenly Judge - we also need an attorney. His name is Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One" (1 John 2 : 1). Then he goes on to say, "No  one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God" (3 : 9). 

Do you want to be free? Do you want to know that if you do sin, you have someone - Jesus Christ - to speak in your defense because He already paid the price for your sin? Then come to Him; ask Him to take complete control of your life and then you will be truly free. God bless.