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"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt" (Deut. 10:17-19 NIV).
More than ten times in the Book of Deuteronomy, God instructs His people that when they enter the Promised Land, they are to remember "the foreigners, the fatherless, and the widows living among you."
When the time came for the harvest, they were to leave some of the grain, grapes, and olives untouched and leave them for those who didn't have equal economic standings. When they celebrated and had their feasts, the people of Israel were not to exclude — but rather to include — those who might feel oppressed. When the people presented their tithes, some of this was to provide for the less fortunate. God even goes so far as to say, "Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow" (Deut. 27:19).
What does this have to do with our day of remembering Martin Luther King Jr.? Maybe this: that on this day we don't remember the man as much as we remember what he strove to secure for all. He chose to live out these commands of God found in Deuteronomy.
It would be so easy to simply think of a person and enjoy a lighter workday or even grumble that there is no mail delivery because of a federal holiday. "Tomorrow," we say to ourselves, "it will all be over, and things can return to normal."
Not so fast! God's Word doesn't change. The passionate heart of Martin Luther King Jr., who died for God's cause of fighting injustice, shouldn't be observed for only one day! Rather, it should be carried on our hearts by the same Spirit of God who calls to us, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).
Today is not so much about a man as it is about the heart of man being converted from selfishness to generosity. From self-seeking to self-giving. From self-elevating to self-humbling.
This is not natural! At least it's not natural in the hearts of sinful humanity. It is only possible by our God, who transforms our hearts by the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ. "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26).
So today ... remember!
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