A Letter Full of Lessons

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus taught about extreme faith - going the extra mile, even to the extent of loving our enemies:
41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Even in an age where the word, "extreme" has come to have negative connotations, the Bible really does teach that we should have a posture of being "extreme", "radical", or "passionate" about the things of God.   Christianity is not a "just enough" religion or belief system - practicing Christianity involves dying to self daily, surrendering totally to the will of God, resisting temptation, and making a commitment to allow the life of Christ to flow through us and control us.   That's the life God wants for each of us - a life of adventure, of love, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, a life that is markedly contrasted to the world.
In Luke chapter 9, we find Jesus teaching His disciples about devotion to Him and a willingness to lay down our lives for Him:
23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of a letter that was written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from a jail in Birmingham.   The recipients of the letter, interestingly enough, were not law enforcement officials or fellow civil rights leaders.   No, the recipients were members of the clergy who were hesitant to embrace the methods that King and his supporters were using.  It is said that they favored the struggle for equality to take place in the courts, rather than the non-violent protests that were taking place in Birmingham at that time.  

And, around the globe today, readings have been taking place of this famed letter.   Perhaps the most famous line in the letter is,  "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

In attempting to renounce the "extremist" label that had been placed upon him, he wrote:

Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. 

Of course, in today's climate, to be called an "extremist" is something you don't want.   Even in the aftermath of the tragedy in Boston, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer speculated about it being the work of "right-wing extremists".  In light of evangelicals being singled out by some as "extreme", with a negative connotation, it's important that we do not allow our passion to be tempered by fear of being labeled in a negative manner.

In our passion for Christ, we will sometimes see our that our actions will be diametrically opposed to the world.  There will be times when we are called to take bold stands, and there will be consequences which God will give us the grace to endure - consequences for attempting to do good, to stand for what is just and right.

That may just be the legacy of someone who was awarded a doctorate by Samford University in 2001 as a tribute for having done the right thing and facing the consequences that came with it.   He was one of the ministers on the so-called "Reconciliation Committee" to which the letter from the Birmingham Jail was addressed, the pastor of First Baptist Birmingham - Earl Stallings, who was actually praised by Dr. King for allowing blacks to attend worship services at his church.  One of the attendees was former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young.

In the collection at Carson-Newman College in Tennessee, Stallings' alma mater, in the ensuing weeks from the pulpit, according to the book, Blessed Are the Peacemakers by S. Jonathan Bass, Stallings boldly "transcended the confines of the basic salvation message and encouraged churchgoers to make a deeper spiritual commitment to justice, brotherhood, and equality."

According to the New York Times, Stallings' stand resulted in antagonism from both civil rights activists and the partisans of segregation, an issue that split the First Baptist congregation after he departed 2 years later.   

He came to my hometown to became pastor of the First Baptist Church of Marietta, Ga., where he remained for 11 years.  About 4 years after he came to Georgia, he baptized me.   So, this letter has a personal connection for me.  

So, on this 50th Anniversary of Dr. King's letter from jail, I think we can ask ourselves about what it would take for us to answer the call and be "creative extremists" - not in the stereotypical, negative sense, but in a positive manner, boldly and passionately pursuing the cause of Christ, not given to compromise or stuck in the mushy middle, but allowing God to give us the motivation to uphold His truth, no matter what the cost.  As Dr. King asked in the letter, "Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?"   Will we, like Jesus, be was "an extremist for love, truth and goodness"?