Good morning…
Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by a police officer in the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant here in Atlanta on Friday night. Rayshard was twenty-seven years old, a father of three daughters and one stepson. Last night, protesters calling for reform took to the streets and closed down one of Atlanta’s main arteries, interstate 75. From our television about fifteen minutes away, I watched the images of the Wendy’s building set ablaze and a long snaking line of captive cars stopped by the passionate crowd.
Right away, the shooting officer was fired. The police chief stepped down. The mayor of Atlanta leaned into the microphone to guide us through this time of great turmoil, quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.”
After listening to her words, I went to my computer and found his quote in its entirety.
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today,” King inspires our response. “We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there ‘is’ such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
Tomorrow is today. Now is urgent. Together we face the unfolding conundrum of life and history. With no time for apathy or complacency, vigorous and positive action is ours to take, emboldened by God’s love for all.
This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear (1 John 3:16-17, MSG).
We each see our brothers and sisters in need and have the means to do something about it. Confronted with the fierce urgency of now, we ask, “LORD, how might Your love reappear, survive, and live on through me?”
Listening attentively, we vigorously act upon God’s positive answer. The blessing of the reappearing video below is a good place to start.
…Sue…
