A few weeks ago, we celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr..
Everyone is aware he was a leader for civil rights, not just for people of color, but he championed the rights and privileges of all God’s people, no matter their race, creed or color.
In all that people say about this drum major for justice, I think a lot of people have forgotten that Dr. King was first and foremost a Baptist Pastor and a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Long before he was marching for unity and equal rights, he was campaigning for the lost souls of all mankind. He quoted the part of our Declaration of Independence that said, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” Therefore, all souls should have equal access to the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ.
When I look across the ecclesiastical landscape of today, I wonder what are we campaigning for; where do we stand when it comes to the Kingdom business of leading all men to Christ? Where does the Church stand?
In January we celebrated Dr. King’s birthday, and in February we will celebrate Black History Month, and again Southern Baptist churches will title February as race relations month.
I’ve often wondered what Jesus would think of the fact that only one month out of 12 is given to fellowshipping with the saints of other ethnicities.
When Jesus was preparing to go back home to Heaven, He said “Love ye one another as I have loved you.” There was no special month set aside to show love to one another. I believe Jesus wanted the same love and compassion He showed for them to be shown and practiced unconditionally, intentionally and never ending.
The 2018 Pastors’ Conference of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma championed how God uses the diversity of race, age and backgrounds in perfect harmony to further His Kingdom agenda.
When there is equality and fellowship in our pulpits, it spills over into our congregations, and the love and unity Jesus intended shines through to everyone. I’m convinced, however, that a show of “race relations” fellowship one month out of a year is useless because it becomes the exception rather than the rule. We need to relate with all God’s people everyday.
The Bible says the God we serve does not make differences between His creations.
Let me remind you of my earlier statement, “…..that all men were created equal.”
In the Bible, Philip was sent to the desert between Gaza and Jerusalem. He found a man from Ethiopia, reading God’s Word from Isaiah, and after he explained the passage, the Ethiopian man said, “There’s some water. What keeps me from being baptized into the Body of Christ?”
The Gospel transcends race, creed or color. It transcends backgrounds and geography; it reaches the highest mountain and into the lowest valley. Everyone needs the Gospel.
Philip baptized that Ethiopian man and was spirited away before the man came up.
Has winning souls for Christ been lost in the flood of what side of a political issue we are on or what is the ethnicity or background of a baptismal candidate?
When I look at the rise of abortion, I don’t see color or ethnicity. When I look at families that are being destroyed because of pornography, I don’t see race or creed. When I hear of children being molested and murdered, sometimes by their own parents, I don’t see race, color or ethnicity. I see the sin of a wicked and perverse generation that desperately needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Saints of God, the more we stand together, not looking at the color of one’s skin but focusing on the condition of one’s soul, more souls will come crying out “What must I do to be saved?”