Last night I went to Selma. There has been a LOT of discussion surrounding Selma as it only received two nominations - one for Best Picture and one for Music - Original Song (which took a Golden Globe). It didn’t receive nominations in other anticipated categories such as Best Director or Best Actor and as this is a historical film based on the nonviolent civil rights movement and walk from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery Alabama led by Martin Luther King, Jr. racial prejudices and gender discrimination are heavy concerns even with as far as our country has come in fighting for equality.
Selma was a powerful film, the kind of film that made me ashamed to be white and simultaneously question how I would have responded if I was alive at that point in history. There were so many profound and monumental statements made throughout the film. One of the most poignant concepts for me surrounded this idea that non-violence was not weak but in fact the exact opposite - it was the very definition and epitome of strength. These men and women of all ages were willing and prepared to walk valiantly towards the battle. They knew the opposition would be waiting with clubs and other various weapons with every intention of brutally attacking and beating them. And yet they marched forward. At one point Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We will triumph for there can be no other way. Fear or not, we have come too far to turn back now.” They were wholeheartedly invested in the effort to gain freedom, for it was life itself they were fighting for. It was so much more than where they sat on a bus or segregation or the right to vote, it was the right to life, real, and true, and free. I have never had to fight that hard for anything. Never experienced that kind of injustice.
Perhaps the most consequential statement for me personally was this: “I’m no different. I want to live long and be happy. But I’ll not be thinking about what I want today. I’ll be thinking about what God wants.” The conviction was deep and instant. That is how Martin Luther King Jr. lived his life. Dedicated to a cause. Committed to changing lives. Willing to sacrifice it all to ensure tomorrow would look different. Am I invested with every ounce of my being to following God’s call for my life? Am I willing to sacrifice everything? I’m no different. I want a husband, a family, maybe even a house - but more than that, I want to live a fulfilled life where at the close I can honestly say I lived my days for the Lord and by grace He will welcome me into salvation. I want to be scattered, I want to leave a legacy that has a lasting impact. I don’t have any grandiose dreams of being the next Martin Luther King Jr. but I do know that I want to walk intentionally into whatever the Lord lays before me with reckless abandon and I want to be ready to forgo the “American dream” to live something far better if that is what He asks. Lord would you give me the courage to be brave and prepare my heart to say YES to You…
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