Yesterday was designated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. This day comes with a mixture of hope and sorrow as I contemplate the life and impact of Dr. King.
I first heard of Dr. King through the media when I was a young boy and through into my early adolescent years. I remember his stirring oratory and how it moved my heart even then. He was able to make me feel somewhat of his people's pain, though I was not one of those who endured it. I remember admiring his courage in the face of horrible bigotry and the very real harm such hatred engendered. And even today, I garner hope in the fact that we as a nation were able to move significantly toward the fulfillment of his grand and good vision of racial equality.
However, I sorrow at the cost. The cost of lives battered and lost was great. In this case, like any great endeavor for righteousness, there is always a cost to be counted. Most of all, I remember the cost of 1968, when the life of someone who had already come to be a hero in my young heart was snatched away. Like most of the nation, I was stunned by the news of Dr. King's assassination. I think that it was then I first thought there must be something wrong with the world. Of course I knew there were bad people in the world and that evil things happened because of them. But I don't think it was until that particular point when I somehow felt the world was broken in some way.
Since that time I have learned what Dr. King already knew many years before his passing. I have learned that yes, the world is broken, and we all broke it. We all continue to break the world with our selfishness and greed and pride and lust and hatred. In the words of one author, "There is a problem with the world, and it is me." I have learned that this problem has but one solution, one provided by the author of life. It is to embrace wholeheartedly the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, and live, really live, by faith in Him. Dr. King reached the promised land because of such faith and the actions he took in response to his faith in Jesus. I hope and pray my actions in life can serve my Lord is half the measure that his did.
IJHN,
LEE
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Is Peace Possible?
I once had a dream about peace in the world. In the dream, I am discussing the concept of whether or not true peace is even possible in the world with two other men. In the course of the discussion, we conclude that true peace has never been experienced or sustained in our world, and for that matter, sustained within any one family that we know of. Conflict is an ever-present companion to all societies. The natural question that occurs among us is that most difficult and persistent of all questions, "Why?"
After further discussion, our small group of three boiled the possible answers down to two possibilities. We have not achieved peace because either, We do not truly desire peace, or We are simply incapable of achieving peace.
One of our group advocated the first possible answer as the correct one. The second of our group could not decide and so served as a mediator of sorts. I proposed the answer was that the human race was simply incapable of achieving peace.
Advocate one for proposition one stated his reasoning as follows. The failure to accomplish peace means that humanity does not really desire peace. We may declare that we do desire it, but we are just fooling ourselves. He suggests the fact that we do not have a universal definition of peace is evidence that we do not desire it. If we did desire peace truly, we would strive much harder to find a definition for peace that all could agree upon. Examples of such inconsistent definitions include those who believe that peace is only possible with submission to their group's authority versus those who believe that peace is simply the absence of physical conflict. Others would more radically define peace as the absence of all physical and even psychological conflict. If humanity would come together and define peace clearly and consistently, then we could achieve it. The hypothesis is that we just do not want peace bad enough to work at it with all we've got.
My conclusion was that the failure to accomplish peace is because we are incapable of doing so. No matter how differently the concept may be defined among various groups, it seems evident that most people do desire peace. In addition, the fact that humanity has continued to attempt to reach peace despite our history of war, is evidence that the desire for peace is present within us. A prime example is the present stalled peace talks that the president is in Israel to try to revive. These parties have been at war in one fashion or another for thousands of years. If these two did not desire peace, there would seem no motivation to keep talking. This has been the case throughout history with every people group on earth, and no matter the heartfelt desire for peace, it is as ephemeral as ever. The very fact that we have not given peace a universally agreed upon definition, at least to how we can or should achieve it, after millennia of trying seems to me to support the conclusion that we are incapable of doing so. Furthermore it seems to bolster the conclusion that we will never be capable of doing so.
Of course, since it was my dream, I won the debate. However, a further question is raised in light of my conclusion, assuming it is indeed correct. The question is, "Is there therefore any hope of peace in the world whatsoever?" The answer is both no, and yes. No, there is no hope of peace in the world as we now know it. Yes, there is hope for peace but it must come from some other source than humanity. The source of peace is the only true giver of peace, God Almighty. Only when we turn to Him, through Christ, is peace available on a personal level, and future peace for all who trust Him will come to pass. It is my hope and prayer that each of you will truly find peace through Jesus by turning your heart over to Him.
IJHN
LEE
After further discussion, our small group of three boiled the possible answers down to two possibilities. We have not achieved peace because either, We do not truly desire peace, or We are simply incapable of achieving peace.
One of our group advocated the first possible answer as the correct one. The second of our group could not decide and so served as a mediator of sorts. I proposed the answer was that the human race was simply incapable of achieving peace.
Advocate one for proposition one stated his reasoning as follows. The failure to accomplish peace means that humanity does not really desire peace. We may declare that we do desire it, but we are just fooling ourselves. He suggests the fact that we do not have a universal definition of peace is evidence that we do not desire it. If we did desire peace truly, we would strive much harder to find a definition for peace that all could agree upon. Examples of such inconsistent definitions include those who believe that peace is only possible with submission to their group's authority versus those who believe that peace is simply the absence of physical conflict. Others would more radically define peace as the absence of all physical and even psychological conflict. If humanity would come together and define peace clearly and consistently, then we could achieve it. The hypothesis is that we just do not want peace bad enough to work at it with all we've got.
My conclusion was that the failure to accomplish peace is because we are incapable of doing so. No matter how differently the concept may be defined among various groups, it seems evident that most people do desire peace. In addition, the fact that humanity has continued to attempt to reach peace despite our history of war, is evidence that the desire for peace is present within us. A prime example is the present stalled peace talks that the president is in Israel to try to revive. These parties have been at war in one fashion or another for thousands of years. If these two did not desire peace, there would seem no motivation to keep talking. This has been the case throughout history with every people group on earth, and no matter the heartfelt desire for peace, it is as ephemeral as ever. The very fact that we have not given peace a universally agreed upon definition, at least to how we can or should achieve it, after millennia of trying seems to me to support the conclusion that we are incapable of doing so. Furthermore it seems to bolster the conclusion that we will never be capable of doing so.
Of course, since it was my dream, I won the debate. However, a further question is raised in light of my conclusion, assuming it is indeed correct. The question is, "Is there therefore any hope of peace in the world whatsoever?" The answer is both no, and yes. No, there is no hope of peace in the world as we now know it. Yes, there is hope for peace but it must come from some other source than humanity. The source of peace is the only true giver of peace, God Almighty. Only when we turn to Him, through Christ, is peace available on a personal level, and future peace for all who trust Him will come to pass. It is my hope and prayer that each of you will truly find peace through Jesus by turning your heart over to Him.
IJHN
LEE
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
TMI and election reflection
Its a brand new year and I'm sure that many of you, along with me, have made and perhaps already broken a few resolutions. One of mine that I made after New Year's Day was to get busy and start posting more often on this blog! So, with that in mind, here goes.
This year is an election year, and along with that comes a political and media circus which only seems to serve to turn more and more people off. More often than not I hear disillusionment among those who could and should be involved in the process of selecting our governmental leadership. In truth, I can't say that I blame many of them. At the very least, I can relate to their feelings.
One of the problems that has recently come to the fore is the 'TMI' syndrome. TMI stands for 'Too Much Information." In the information age, we are immersed in a glut of information which tends to overload our circuits, so to speak, and makes it more difficult, rather than easier, to support worthy candidates for office.
All that being the case, I must state that we still have a responsibility to participate in the political process. Each of us must make the effort to learn the candidates and their positions. Each of us must also make the effort to learn about the character of the candidates as well. For no matter the positions that a particular candidate espouses, if he or she is of questionable character we cannot trust that those positions on the issues will be carried out while the candidate is in office.
Will it be difficult to do? Yes, indeed it will. There will be a sacrifice of time and effort. You may not be able to do all of the things you would like to do when you would like to do them in order to be a part of choosing our nation's leadership. However, the consequences of failing to participate would be far worse than an inconvenience to our time and freedom. There is an old saying which goes, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." If we aren't careful, the outcome of our apathy will result in evil triumphing at the helm of our land.
IJHN,
LEE
This year is an election year, and along with that comes a political and media circus which only seems to serve to turn more and more people off. More often than not I hear disillusionment among those who could and should be involved in the process of selecting our governmental leadership. In truth, I can't say that I blame many of them. At the very least, I can relate to their feelings.
One of the problems that has recently come to the fore is the 'TMI' syndrome. TMI stands for 'Too Much Information." In the information age, we are immersed in a glut of information which tends to overload our circuits, so to speak, and makes it more difficult, rather than easier, to support worthy candidates for office.
All that being the case, I must state that we still have a responsibility to participate in the political process. Each of us must make the effort to learn the candidates and their positions. Each of us must also make the effort to learn about the character of the candidates as well. For no matter the positions that a particular candidate espouses, if he or she is of questionable character we cannot trust that those positions on the issues will be carried out while the candidate is in office.
Will it be difficult to do? Yes, indeed it will. There will be a sacrifice of time and effort. You may not be able to do all of the things you would like to do when you would like to do them in order to be a part of choosing our nation's leadership. However, the consequences of failing to participate would be far worse than an inconvenience to our time and freedom. There is an old saying which goes, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." If we aren't careful, the outcome of our apathy will result in evil triumphing at the helm of our land.
IJHN,
LEE
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