Celebrate the Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.Sample

Radical Love

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. -Philippians 2:3

On Good Friday, April 12, 1963, police arrested Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama, hoping to end the push for integration. With its leaders in prison, King too wondered whether the civil rights movement could progress. When he read a letter smuggled into his prison cell, written by “moderate” religious leaders criticizing the nonviolent movement for being too radical, King had to respond. God provided the inspiration and parchment to pen his thoughts in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King humbly called others to join the pursuit of equal justice; an ask that could lead to assault, hosing, and dog bites. In the letter’s final paragraph, Dr. King wrote that he served others not for personal accolades, “but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother.”

Our Christian calling is to serve others with radical love. Scripture teaches us that Jesus, for our sake, “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). Because of Jesus’ love, the apostle Paul, from his own prison cell, could ask us to “value others” above ourselves (v. 3).

We may be silenced, abused, or forgotten by history because we love. Yet our faith transcends our need for distinction and recognition. Throughout history, the Christian’s call to justice demands radical love and sacrifice. Radical love requires not only that we work to wipe out injustice, but it also demands our humility and love for the Word of God. -Carey H. Latimore IV

What do love and sacrifice look like for us today? How do we value fellow believers above ourselves as well as those who oppose us?

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice for us and for giving us Your Spirit and truth to guide us as we reach out today to be servants of one another through Your love.