Dream

The Bible tells us that we are to love God and love other people, and to do so without passing judgment. James 2 addresses the issue of showing partiality:
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool,"
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

This could apply to other areas, as well - the Bible instructs us not to show partiality to people based on outward appearance - this is one example, but I believe it also applies to race, ethnicity, cultural background.  We are be willing to invite all to come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, because Jesus gave His life for everyone.  2nd Corinthians 5 talks about being compelled by the love of Christ, and in that spirit of love through Him, we can demonstrate how much we love Him and how we want them to come to Him.

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We find an appropriate Scripture passage for this holiday in Acts chapter 17, in which we find this declaration from the apostle Paul:
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

Today, this day, would have been the 95th birthday of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was actually born on January 15, 1929.  No doubt, a transformative person whose contributions to our culture continue to be observed.

His niece, Alveda King, who is a Christian, pro-life commentator, wrote a piece for FoxNews.com this past summer to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered in Washington in 1963.  She wrote:

As he spoke out to crowds hundreds of thousands strong, all hopeful Americans eager to see the fulfillment of America’s promise of equal rights, he laid out his vision: "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."

Uncle M.L.’s words spoke then and speak now to the very important point that America’s ideals and founding values are not the enemies of equality and opportunity. Rather, they are noble principles deeply rooted in our individual and national character, and it’s up to the brave men and women in every day and every age to live them out.

She went on to say:

In Rev. King’s mind, human beings should not be divided by skin color. Based upon scientific facts and the biblical foundation of a one blood/one human race in Acts 17:26, all talk of the various "races" of people was foreign to him.

Instead, he understood that we are the one-blood human race, made by the hand of God, all in His own image and likeness. As Christians, the Dream should include seeking abundant living for ourselves, while serving others – from the womb to the tomb and beyond.

But, we also recognize that the enemy is trying to divide Christians, and society at large, along what Alveda King says, "every available fault line." She wrote, "Rather than championing the values of liberty, justice and equality that can unite us as the one-blood human race, America’s voices of division seek to divide and categorize us along every available fault line and pit us against each other."

She referred to an open letter than she wrote, along with other faith leaders, in the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville last year, which said:

"We are in a cultural revolution against God and country; one determined to normalize the things of darkness and to replace God from our nation at all costs. The counter cancel culture revolution’s agenda is fueled by sin. We have come together across denominations and faiths to declare we will not be silent."

Former seminary president and church and denominational leader Richard Land, Executive Editor of The Christian Post, wrote a piece on Rev. King last year and stated:

It is often overlooked by the secular media that the driving force informing and motivating Dr. King’s ministry was the paramount fact that he was first and foremost an ordained Baptist minister and his ministry to America was driven by his commitment to a biblically based belief in the fundamental dignity and equal value of every human life — what he often summarized as “somebodiness.”

Dr. Land wrote that, "...one can only imagine how saddened Dr. King would be by the degeneration into the ethnic rivalries and hostilities that plague present-day American society...," and went on to say, "For those of us old enough to have made the journey through the civil rights revolution of the last six decades, the progress between then and now has been extremely encouraging and should inspire America to continue her journey to complete fruition."

There is certainly a gap between knowing what is right and doing what is right.  We can cite platitudes, but we have to put feet to our faith. So, while we talk about Biblically-informed race relations, we have to make sure that our attitudes are right, according to Dr. Land, who also wrote, "Progress toward the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream is inextricably intertwined with the health of the Christian faith in America."

You have probably heard me say that the Church has an opportunity to lead the way regarding race relations.  We have to make sure that we are "loving our neighbor," even if they look different than we do. And, we have to make sure that what's inside the heart is consistent with our external declarations. We don't have to participate in division; the Bible teaches us to pursue what leads to peace.

We also have to recognize that a divided Church is a Church with reduced power.  We can radiate to the world what it really means to love God and love our neighbor. But, if we as the Church and as society at large participate in dividing by outward appearance, buying into conclusions that typecast people and expecting certain people to act in a certain way, then we are walking in judgment and not the mercy of the Lord.