Bike tours have given Becky and I wonderful opportunities.
In 2012 our 500-mile IJM Tour took us to Washington D.C. and the MLK Memorial. A year later, on our way to do 1000 miles around Florida, we stopped in Memphis to visit the place where an assassin’s bullet ended Dr. King’s life.
Those experiences also introduced us to the horrors of human trafficking and sharpened our focus on social justice. Later in 2013 the initial FREEDOM TOUR team began our partnership with the kids at the HOME OF HOPE.
Yesterday we remembered Dr. King. As I reflected on how to honor his legacy, I encountered this quote.
We do not honor prophets with celebrations. We honor prophets by going to the place they died, reaching down in the blood, picking up whatever they were working on, and carrying it the next mile.
Dr. William J Barber II
When Dr. King was alive, he wasn’t popular. He poked at the status quo and made lots of folks uncomfortable. He demanded justice…not vengeance or retribution, but God’s version of justice. He demanded that things be set right.
We don’t really honor his legacy by turning him into a folk hero.
We honor him and give his death meaning by carrying his work the next mile.