ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 29, 2022
When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took over his first church at the age of 26, he hoped to grow it, make enough money to buy a nice house, and find time to teach at a local university. His dream was to become the President of a University. We all have unrealized dreams. Some of them were because of circumstance or timing, others because the task and our talents didn’t match. But I think some dreams are unrealized because God simply had a different dream. Yet often people cling to a dream at the expense of participating in God’s dream. There were probably many days when Dr. King thought to himself, “Maybe I can get back to what I wanted to do and achieve what I wanted to achieve.” If that was the case, I could not criticize him for thinking such a thing, but thank God for the dream to which he committed his life. I sometimes wonder if my ambitions and dreams hinder my participation in God’s dream. I’m wondering if I’ve played it too safe on the important issues of our time in order to avoid causing too many roadblocks to what I wanted. It was the Apostle Paul who wrote in his Letter to the Romans, “Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.” I think Paul was inviting his readers to catch a glimpse of God’s dream, and if need be, set aside their own as they sought to bring God’s dream to fruition. May it be so for all of us.
Let my greatest dream be contingent upon your dream, O Merciful God. Bring your Spirit alongside my spirit for the purpose of aligning my vision with yours. Wherever mine does not affiliate and collaborate with you, provide me with the courage to make the tough and necessary changes. Amen.
