Today’s Scripture Reading (March 11, 2018): Colossians 3
I have a dream. My dream is not far removed from Dr. Martin Luther King’s
dream spoken so eloquently over fifty years
ago. I have a dream of a world where color and gender are simply unimportant. I
dream of a world that may not be rich, but where we have learned to be fiscally
responsible, and therefore we have the money to spend on the important things
like education and healthcare. I look at
the things that divide us and wish that they could be removed. I dream of a day when people of different faiths can sit and just have a conversation with each
other about important things. I am not saying that we need to find some kind of universal religion that fits us all,
but rather we need to recognize that we are all people seeking God.
I am sick and tired of bullies who try to
push their weight around to get their way. I am tired of narrow-minded people who carry a message of
hate into everything that they do. I have a dream of a world where we stand up together
and say no more to these things. I have a dream.
But then reality knocks on my door. Race
matters because we give it the power to matter. Fear is very real. And when we
are scared, we don’t make the best decisions. Guns matter because they become
the instruments of fear, either to instill it or to try to escape from it. This is the real reason why we have such a
strong relationship with our guns. They have become our path to security and
power. I have a dream, but as I look out the window at my world, the possibility
of my dream ever being fulfilled fades in the light of my reality. Almost
fifty-five years ago, Dr. King spoke the words -
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!
I am not sure that his words are any truer
today than they were when he first spoke them. We still judge each other
according to color. We still have not learned to
embrace each other in spite of our differences. It is not a “Black”
problem or a “White” problem. It is our problem.
Paul instructs us to set our mind on things
above, and not on earthly things. Too often our response to the challenge is to
say that heavenly things are good and earthly things are evil, but that isn’t
quite true. Some earthly things are evil. When a nineteen-year-old walks into a
school with a gun and starts shooting, that is evil. When a fifty-something-year-old man holes up in a
hotel room and starts to shoot at an outdoor concert taking place across the
street, that is evil. Whenever we judge the value of each other based on color
or religion, that is evil. But not everything on earth is evil. But everything
on earth is tainted with a sense of powerlessness. How often do we look at the
world and say “this is just simply the way it is – it cannot be changed.”
“Things above” set out the ideals that we
should be stretching for, whether we think they are possible or not. “Things
above” should always press us toward love and equality, knowing that we are the
children of God. “Things above” remind us that, with God, nothing is impossible,
and that even our impossible dreams for this world can come true.
Dr. King understood. He warned not only of
the need of equality for the black people
but also for the white and every color in between. He reminded us that –
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march
ahead.
We cannot turn back.
We must continue to move forward, with our
minds set on things above.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Colossians 4
Personal Note: Happy Birthday, Dad, I hope you are
having a great day!
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