Jesus was a man of the people and a man of justice. He loved people, and He brought about justice. He really saw people and met them where they were, especially the most marginalized in society. And He recognized the hypocrites; He discerned those who demanded things of others that they themselves didn’t follow, and He called them out.
Justice is not passive. It is active. On this day of remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let’s remember that the God he served is a God of justice. And Dr. King himself tried to emulate Jesus by actively and radically standing for that which is just. He was not aiming to be popular and didn’t appease everyone by speaking passive phrases that made people feel warm inside. Dr. King was a trailblazer and visionary who fought for justice. It was a fight.
Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn.”
“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”
Isaiah 30:18: “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”