Thursday, August 8, 2013 09:38 PM
By: Dr. Alveda C. King
I have a prayer and a word of encouragement for Pope Francis and all world leaders:
In the wake of the Martin/Zimmerman tragedy — in the face of the looming human sexuality debate, on the wings of the promised 50th Anniversary Celebration of the historical “March on Washington” and “I Have a Dream” speech by my famous uncle.
Yes, we are facing difficult days. Yet there is hope ahead.
Have faith and love for every member of the human race. It is time to hate the sin and love the sinner. We can set the example with personal and communal repentance, revival, restoration, rebuilding, recovery and renewal.
It’s all about redemption.
My uncle once said: “We must discover the power of love, the power — the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way.
We need a proverbial eraser to set the record straight. Erase the old ways and let our minds be renewed. Replace the word tolerance with the expression of genuine compassion. Override judgment with mercy and divine Justice.”
Somehow we have forgotten or perhaps never known the purpose for human life on this planet.
The Bible warns us of the challenges of uncontrollable lust unleashed by human sexuality gone amuck.
Generally, people involved in sexual activity springing from fornication, adultery and even same-sex liaisons do not experience the lasting fulfillment that monogamous heterosexual couples do.
This is why it is written:
“Matthew 19: 4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus asked. “From the beginning ‘God made them male and female . . . This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined (sexually) to his wife, and the two are united into one . . . Divorce was not what God had originally intended. 10 Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!”
Yet in 1 Corinthians 7:8, it is written that “it is better to marry than to burn with lust.”
Again Jesus also goes as far as to speak to those who are either born without a sexual desire for members of the opposite sex; forced into an alternate lifestyle or choose a life without sexual desire for someone of the opposite sex.
Matthew 19:11:11 “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said; “only those whom God helps. 12 Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” (In the original translation the term eunuch includes castration and other limiting factors surrounding heterosexual sexual unions.)
In error many have misunderstood these sayings to mean that God is in favor of sexual relationships that interrupt his original plan for procreation.
We forget that God doesn’t create sin, sickness and unnatural human circumstances. If someone is born a certain way, say with an infirmity, a misshapen limb, an unnatural sexual desire — that does not mean that God desired for them to be born that way. That’s why John 3:16 is so important.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life.”
Sadly, many have not known of or accepted the precious gift of Jesus and His blood which corrects and eliminates human sin and sadness. Even sadder is that those who have accepted this gift are not willing and humble enough to share this gift with this world, because to share it we must be repentant, transparent, and nonjudgmental.
I’ve said many times that we are dealing with a three-headed monster with racism as the first head. Racism is a sin, because it is a deception in that we are not separate races. We are all of one blood.
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth . . .” Acts 17:26
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools,” explained MLK.
The second head of the monster is reproductive genocide. The directive to be fruitful and multiply is a blessing not the curse reflected in the error of artificial and harmful contraceptives and abortion. There are healthy options such as abstinence and natural family planning that do not involve killing women and children.
The third head is sexual perversion with all of its trappings.
Somehow we tiptoe around the obvious, never genuinely seeking to separate the sinner from the sin. We can love the one and hate the other.
“Jude 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”
For me, life is a journey and the Bible is my roadmap.
“The paths and trails have pitfalls, but as long as the light of the glorious Gospel shines, we can see. We may stumble, but we don’t go over a cliff because God’s love, his son’s blood and his holy spirit all keep us safe.
Now is the time to erase fear, hatred and strife. Time is short so we must be bold. Change and tolerance are steps along the way, but it will take transformation and compassion to get us across the finish line.
My parents Rev. A. D. King and Naomi King joined Uncle M.L. and the hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C. 50 years ago.
He had a prayer on his lips and a dream in his heart. As we approach the 50th Anniversary of the march on Washington, I plan to observe August 28th with members of my family, friends and the world while praying in my heart that we will all come away transformed by God’s love.
Dr. Alveda C. King grew up in the civil rights movement led by her uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She is a pastoral associate and director of African-American outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries. Her family home in Birmingham, Ala., was bombed, as was her father’s church office in Louisville, Ky. Alveda herself was jailed during the open housing movement.
I have a prayer and a word of encouragement for Pope Francis and all world leaders:
In the wake of the Martin/Zimmerman tragedy — in the face of the looming human sexuality debate, on the wings of the promised 50th Anniversary Celebration of the historical “March on Washington” and “I Have a Dream” speech by my famous uncle.
Yes, we are facing difficult days. Yet there is hope ahead.
Have faith and love for every member of the human race. It is time to hate the sin and love the sinner. We can set the example with personal and communal repentance, revival, restoration, rebuilding, recovery and renewal.
It’s all about redemption.
My uncle once said: “We must discover the power of love, the power — the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way.
We need a proverbial eraser to set the record straight. Erase the old ways and let our minds be renewed. Replace the word tolerance with the expression of genuine compassion. Override judgment with mercy and divine Justice.”
Somehow we have forgotten or perhaps never known the purpose for human life on this planet.
The Bible warns us of the challenges of uncontrollable lust unleashed by human sexuality gone amuck.
Generally, people involved in sexual activity springing from fornication, adultery and even same-sex liaisons do not experience the lasting fulfillment that monogamous heterosexual couples do.
This is why it is written:
“Matthew 19: 4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus asked. “From the beginning ‘God made them male and female . . . This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined (sexually) to his wife, and the two are united into one . . . Divorce was not what God had originally intended. 10 Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!”
Yet in 1 Corinthians 7:8, it is written that “it is better to marry than to burn with lust.”
Again Jesus also goes as far as to speak to those who are either born without a sexual desire for members of the opposite sex; forced into an alternate lifestyle or choose a life without sexual desire for someone of the opposite sex.
Matthew 19:11:11 “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said; “only those whom God helps. 12 Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” (In the original translation the term eunuch includes castration and other limiting factors surrounding heterosexual sexual unions.)
In error many have misunderstood these sayings to mean that God is in favor of sexual relationships that interrupt his original plan for procreation.
We forget that God doesn’t create sin, sickness and unnatural human circumstances. If someone is born a certain way, say with an infirmity, a misshapen limb, an unnatural sexual desire — that does not mean that God desired for them to be born that way. That’s why John 3:16 is so important.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life.”
Sadly, many have not known of or accepted the precious gift of Jesus and His blood which corrects and eliminates human sin and sadness. Even sadder is that those who have accepted this gift are not willing and humble enough to share this gift with this world, because to share it we must be repentant, transparent, and nonjudgmental.
I’ve said many times that we are dealing with a three-headed monster with racism as the first head. Racism is a sin, because it is a deception in that we are not separate races. We are all of one blood.
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth . . .” Acts 17:26
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools,” explained MLK.
The second head of the monster is reproductive genocide. The directive to be fruitful and multiply is a blessing not the curse reflected in the error of artificial and harmful contraceptives and abortion. There are healthy options such as abstinence and natural family planning that do not involve killing women and children.
The third head is sexual perversion with all of its trappings.
Somehow we tiptoe around the obvious, never genuinely seeking to separate the sinner from the sin. We can love the one and hate the other.
“Jude 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”
For me, life is a journey and the Bible is my roadmap.
“The paths and trails have pitfalls, but as long as the light of the glorious Gospel shines, we can see. We may stumble, but we don’t go over a cliff because God’s love, his son’s blood and his holy spirit all keep us safe.
Now is the time to erase fear, hatred and strife. Time is short so we must be bold. Change and tolerance are steps along the way, but it will take transformation and compassion to get us across the finish line.
My parents Rev. A. D. King and Naomi King joined Uncle M.L. and the hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C. 50 years ago.
He had a prayer on his lips and a dream in his heart. As we approach the 50th Anniversary of the march on Washington, I plan to observe August 28th with members of my family, friends and the world while praying in my heart that we will all come away transformed by God’s love.
Dr. Alveda C. King grew up in the civil rights movement led by her uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She is a pastoral associate and director of African-American outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries. Her family home in Birmingham, Ala., was bombed, as was her father’s church office in Louisville, Ky. Alveda herself was jailed during the open housing movement.
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