I have a dream

Today we are celebrating the life of a man who helped change the course of history. He stepped into a conflict dominated by hate and violence and offered love and peace. When others wanted to use bombs, guns, and intimidation to forward their cause, Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated peaceful marches and non-violent protests.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is about so much more than the Civil Rights Movement. Don't get me wrong, racism lost a lot of ground because of the efforts of King and those who marched with him. But what he stood for went much deeper than that.

In his famous speech in Washington, D.C., King said, "I have a dream..." But this wasn't King's dream. It was God's dream living through him. While I never knew him personally, I can tell by the fruit that he bore than Martin Luther King, Jr. was an ambassador of the Kingdom of God. He wasn't perfect, but he was certainly taking a stand for something that reverberated the echoes of the voice of the Creator.

Ultimately, his willingness to stand against the tide cost him his life. A voice of hope, peace, love, and victory was silenced too early. But not before he sounded a cry that would echo for generations to come. Much like the man he followed, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Jr. was willing to do what was right, regardless of the consequences.

When I consider the life that King lived I am both embarrassed and encouraged. I am embarrassed about the number of times I fail to live in way that reflects and advances the Kingdom of God. I am encouraged because I know that King struggled, too. When I read a biography of King's life, I learned that this larger than life man was just as human as I am. He made his mistakes. He had his regrets. And in that way, he and I are no different.

If a man like Martin Luther King, Jr. can take a stand and change the world, so can I. There may never be a holiday named after me and it's unlikely I will ever appear in a history book, but I can have a dream like God's that will change the world around me in a way that ushers in the Kingdom of God.

Thank you, Dr; King, for showing us a better way to live so that God's dream can become our dream, too.

 

shine!
Jason