Highlight : Dr. Martin Luther King and the power of nonviolence

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a force for change in his day, was well known for saying,

“Christianity has always insisted that the cross we bear precedes the crown we wear.”

Dr. King was determined that each person was seen as valued and honored. When he organized a civil rights march in Selma Alabama, he was spat on, beaten by white supremacists, and arrested. Through it all he stayed committed to justice, compassion, and love.

For Philip Yancey, Dr. King’s life of nonviolence and love impacted him in powerful ways. He shares his thoughts in his book, Soul Survivor.

“The only way to get across the love of Jesus when you’re being attacked is the same way Jesus did – not to fight back. A lot of people are shocked when they see film clips of the march in Selma in different places; Martin Luther King wasn’t shocked at all. He deliberately went to the most racist-type sheriffs, knowing that they were going to turn police dogs loose, and that they were going to beat him with clubs and put him in jail because that was the only way to expose their racism as evil.”

Dr. King knew that talk doesn’t change things, but actions do change history.

“When the world saw what was happening, they knew which side was right and which side was wrong. Martin Luther King knew how to expose that.”

What are some of the takeaways from Dr. King’s life and ministry?

It’s important for us to truly love our enemies, as Dr. King did, as Jesus did. He pursued those who hated Him and built relationships by loving them. We can see past the exteriors of our enemies and see them as an image-bearer of God, just as we are. That radical act can turn a whole society on its head.

“We’re seeing in different parts of the world right now what history normally does with enemies. You kill them. You massacre them. You behead them. And Martin Luther King came along and said ‘No, there is another way.These are the great souls of recent times. And they did it not with guns but by laying down their lives.”

Dr. King’s life is an example for us to follow. Suffering is for a moment, but joy is for eternity. Philip explains.

“Suffering can be redemptive. I’ve read about suffering, I’ve been around a lot of suffering. And I can’t explain why it happens and why one person gets killed and another doesn’t, why one child gets sick and another doesn’t. But I do believe that, as Romans 8 says, that out of anything that happens, good can come. It can be redeemed.”


Philip Yancey is has written around 20 books, most of them still in print. He is also the editor and publisher of Campus Life.  Philip considers himself a pilgrim, still in recovery from a bad church upbringing, searching for a faith that makes its followers larger and not smaller.

Key Scriptures: Romans 8

Featured Songs: Majesty of the Most High by Matt Redman; Songs in the Night by Matt Redman; It Is Well by Matt Redman

Soul survivor