Justice for all
A Christian Science perspective: How to best honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
On Dec. 13, 2014, organized civil rights marches were held in a number of US cities under the theme “Justice for All.” At the time I thought it was an event that Martin Luther King Jr. would have approved of because it embraced his sanctioned approach for social change: nonviolence and inclusiveness.
I’ve been pondering in recent weeks how I can honor the best of what Dr. King brought to the advancement of humanity. And I have found myself turning to a book he read and loved: the Bible.
My study of the Scriptures has helped me understand that the universality of justice is not only morally right, but is divine law. The Bible says of God, “all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Isaiah 33:22 refers to God as “our judge” and “lawgiver.” God, Principle, and Love are one, and they are just.
Human love is important, often reflecting elements of divine Love. But in order to pray most effectively about universal justice, I’ve found it necessary to lift thought above the human to the divine.
Jesus showed us the power of direct reliance on God. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, wrote: “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 494). Jesus knew that it was not he but the law of divine Love that healed sickness, sin, and death.
As we lift our view to a spiritual basis as Jesus consistently did, we will be able to see beyond material constructs of oppression and a limited view of man based on race, ethnicity, gender, social status, and so forth. These things will fall from view completely, leaving only the beauty of individual and collective unity with God, good. This is not utopian, pie-in-the-sky thinking; it is achievable here and now as we gain an understanding of the true nature of man as spiritual. Isn’t this what Jesus meant when he said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”? (Matthew 3:2).
The dictionary defines justice as “conformity to truth.” Jesus taught, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
In this way, justice and freedom are one. Understanding the truth that justice is a divine attribute that cannot be separated from any of God’s children naturally leads everyone to freedom, literally and figuratively – freedom from inequity, hunger, illness, or any other evil.
King urged audiences not to wait idly for justice, but to take action to bring it forth. An essential action we can all take right now is to know the truth about the man and woman of God’s creating, the outcome of which will lead to justice for all.