Thank God for Martin Luther King, Jr. an iconic figure enlarged perhaps in death or merely by the uniqueness of his contribution to American—not merely “Afro” American—life. MLK’s birthday is, perhaps the one time of year when the local ministries here stop their quarreling and close ranks, most black church leaders gathering for one or more MLK celebrations this weekend. Of course, the best tribute we could possibly pay Dr. King would be to behave this way all year ‘round. We shouldn’t only join together to mourn, but to build and to grow.

“Do this in remembrance of me,” Jesus said. But, to truly honor Christ, we should do more than merely take communion once a month. To honor Christ we should model our lives after Him. We should want to be like Him every day—not just when confronted by the sobering reality of His great sacrifice. We should be full-time Christians. We should be full-time brothers and sisters.

That would be the greatest memorial we could ever build.