Dreams...

 "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

 "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

 "I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

 "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...

  "I have a dream today."

from the "I have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.  August 28, 1963   Washington D.C. 

50 years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior arguably delivered one of the greatest speeches in United States History.




There are more learned men and women than me to determine the impact of the speech and its legacy left across the five decades since that day.  A lot of road has been traveled.  There is still a long way to go.


I have no memories of today's historical event - still being nearly a month away from making my first public appearance - but since history does actually commence before we are born (a special note of that to high school and college students of today on that point) I heard and learned more about the speech as I grew.




As sad as it is contemplate, some of the most ardent segregationists tried using religion to justify their opinions.  In the 1960s, 100 years removed from the Civil War there was overt discrimination.  Fifty years later, much has improved; however, sadly that discrimination is still with us as we judge by skin color and not be character.

I don't know what book the segregationists were reading, but it wasn't the Bible. 


Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20: 25-28

 Rich and poor have this in common:    The Lord is the Maker of them all.  Proverbs 22:2

“If I have denied justice to any of my servants,
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,
    what will I do when God confronts me?
    What will I answer when called to account?  
    Did not he who made me in the womb make them?    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?  Job 31:13 - 15 

As sinners, we forget these truths daily and treat each other poorly, imaging that we are superior to someone else because of some reason that makes us feel better.

The good news... that Dr. King preached is that as God's children we can look at each other through the forgiveness of the cross.  

We won't make that goal either, but it is certainly dream worthy.  As a milestone in history can serve as a reference point to progress - now would be a good time to consider the dream and we might do to the best of our ability to make it come true.