MLKJ - I have a dream... Part II

I have a dream....

Oh – how many people have dreams, or ideas of what the future may look like – or more so how the future should look for the better of everyone.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." - Martin Luther King Jr.

What a great dream! A dream where everyone would truly be considered equal.

You know – I would say that Jesus himself had a dream for us. One that would have shown as equals – but in a far much more beautiful way than just that.

MLKJ – is one who really held values in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. What's interesting is people look up to MLKJ as a Civil Rights Activist. People also tend to look up to Mahatma Gandhi in a way where he sought peace.

What's interesting – is although Gandhi may not have been a Christian – you will find one notable piece of information about Gandhi. At a certain point in his life – Gandhi, started to read the Sermon on the Mount, and not just once, but read the Sermon on the Mount every single day!

Before I continue – I highly recommend reading the Sermon on the Mount – found in Matthew Chapters 5 – 7 – or you can perhaps watch the video here(ignore the time – but the passage is 25 minutes long):

Interesting facts now, don't you think? MLKJ held to Christians values most specifically the Sermon on the Mount values – and Gandhi truly thought that the Christians he didn't like should be more like their Jesus, in the way described in the Sermon on the Mount.

Fascinating stuff I say! I also say this because both of these people were Civil Rights Activists and people would listen to both of these people. Were they dreaming up some new idea and/or concept? Absolutely not!

This was an idea and concept that Jesus taught about 2000 years ago. A concept of love your enemy, love your neighbour as yourself, and most notably, when people talk about freedoms – they will point to people like MLKJ, Gandhi, and others – but rarely do people point to the Great Teacher of this – who is Jesus.

What's interesting is Jesus himself said:
John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 

I'm not saying Jesus taught Gandhi nor did He teach MLKJ – but I can tell you one thing, the things that Jesus said, or the things that Jesus did obviously had an effect on these people and on many others.

The Sermon on the Mount – Love, Hope, Peace. Yes there are harsh words in there – but those harsh words are to demonstrate if we actually do love ourselves, but also that we love our neighbours as ourselves.

I would say – the best outlook on Hope in that Sermon on the Mount comes in the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit

Blessed are they that mourn

Blessed are the meek

Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness

Blessed are the merciful

Blessed are the pure in heart

Blessed are the peacemakers

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake

It's clear here – Jesus was addressing different groups of people – but at the same time the same people. He's showing his Love and compassion – awareness that people are going through tough times. The thing is – it doesn't just end with who he's addressing – it continues with what the blessing shall be.

What's interesting though – is it doesn't stop there. He continues after the Beatitudes to state that “You are the salt of the Earth” - so just because you are merciful 100% of the time, doesn't mean you can be trampled on. You can address how you feel and still be merciful and pure in heart, etc.

MLKJ – in his I have a dream speech did things quite similar.

I have a dream....INPUTS IDEA/DREAM HERE.....SAYS what we need to do to reach that idea/dream.

As said before – giving a person Hope is a powerful thing. Take it away from people and usually they don't want to listen to you. Take hope away from people, and they'll walk away.

Hope isn't just something that Religious people need. Hope is something that all people need. Jesus knew that. MLKJ taught in that way, and how many others provide that same type of delivery.

If you want to be like someone – study what they did; study what they studied; study what their teachers taught.

If I want to be like Jesus – I should very much look at the Bible for this. All the information I can get is from there. I may get some insight from outside the Bible – but it's important to study even those details, as some details may contradict what Jesus said.

If I want to be like Jesus – I have to believe and agree that it's ok for a man to cry. Did you know the shortest verse in the Bible is: “Jesus wept.”?

If I want to be like MLKJ – I need to learn where he got his ideas from for “I have a dream”.