Kathairo Solutions

As a black man in the United States, I am very grateful for the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy. I have access to basic rights and professional privileges because of the way he and other leaders like him paved. As a black pastor in the United States, I am grateful for Dr. King’s ministry model; practicing what he preached. Anyone can talk about loving others in hard situations, but it takes real strength to actually do it. Above is a picture of my lovely wife Kim and I at the King Memorial in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. It was the highlight of our walk down the national mall on a brisk March evening. Seeing the towering figure off in the distance along with walking through and reading his many powerful statements was truly inspiring.

One of my favorite Dr. King quotes on display at the south wall of the memorial is “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.” This exemplifies his non-violent approach in the struggle for civil rights. Hateful forces were met with an even greater force of Love. The love of Jesus Christ. Peter counseled his readers saying, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8 ESV). In relationships people will hurt each other. Sometimes those offenses run deep; going beyond individual offenses to societal and generational levels. Peter’s counsel is that only the love of Christ can enter these deep divisions and cover sins. Not cover up sins, but cover them by killing the roots of bitterness and hate.

It is not difficult to see deep divisions and mistrust along racial and ethnic lines in the Church and American society at large. These divisions are rooted in pain and hate. As one that speaks and writes on racial reconciliation, I am deeply grateful for the work of Dr. King. Racial reconciliation requires acknowledging past atrocities, understanding how they impact the present, and discovering how we must move forward to change the future. While instructing believers to forgive each other in a way that models Christ’s forgiveness (which is total and complete), Paul goes on to say that the love of Christ “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14)

I pray that the people of God continue to honor Dr. King’s legacy by calling out division and hate, entering situations with love and forgiveness, and being God’s agents of harmony and hope.