Pursuing the Dream – January 20, 2020

“I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all.”
Isaiah 49:4

Pursuing the Dream

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and described his dream. He said:

“It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.”
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and 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 the 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 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.”

The world that King imagined was a far cry from the world in which he was living. It would not come easily. How discouraged he must have felt sometimes. How often he must have felt like giving up. But he pressed on. And history changed, as it followed his dream.

The Lord had a dream too. He envisioned his Son coming to be the Savior for all people.

That dream didn’t happen without a struggle. Jesus’ own people rejected him. The ones he came to save turned against him. It seemed like no one was listening, like every word he spoke fell on deaf ears. They mocked him, abused him, and put him to death.

We are no better, are we? We let our own dreams get in the way of his plans for us. We let the noise of this world drown out his loving voice that calls us to follow him and offers us real life. We receive his forgiveness and go right back to sinning.

“What’s the use?” Jesus might wonder. “Why bother? I should just give up.”

But Jesus pressed on and fulfilled his Father’s dream. He accomplished his mission of love for us. He defeated the devil. He carried our sins to his cross and buried them in his tomb. He opened up heaven for you and me.

Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for not giving up on God’s dream for me. Amen.