18 Jan, 2021 I Have A Dream – What About You?

by Bethany Dumbleton

“I Have A Dream“

The famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We all know the powerful words he spoke. They were given power due to the context in which they were spoken. Today, we celebrate his legacy, and rightfully so. Today’s Americans could profit from his example more than ever.  We all have a dream, or at least I hope so. As a child, dreaming was exhilarating! It came as second nature to us. And as we got older we realized a lot of our dreams were simply naive and impossible. Our idea of dreams started to change and we realized we could still have a dream, it would just need to be a realistic one. I realize the current state of the world simply looks futureless, but I am here to tell you, I still have a dream.

The Dreamers

We all know them. They are almost always optimistic and upbeat which can be extremely aggravating if you are in a gloomy predicament. However, we need them. The dreamers are the people who can step in a puddle of water and instead of being aggravated by their soggy socks, purposely jump in the next one they see. The Meriam-webster definition actually says,

Dreamer– 1. one that dreams.

2. a: one who lives in a world of fancy and imagination

If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not a visionary, then I clearly misunderstand what a visionary is. He looked at the world and saw its brokenness and envisioned a different future. His dream was not selfish or malicious in any way. Dr. King’s hope and purpose were defined by something that we are lacking in society today: a reverence for Christ and the Word of God. To have a dream separate from God’s will is hopeless. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw his dream come to fruition because it aligned with God’s dream. God’s dream is for justice and unity. Do you have a dream? Or are you what most people would consider a pessimist? I prefer the term, “realist.”

Welcome To Reality

Unfortunately, I flip to this side of the coin more often than I used to. How could I not when we endured a year like the one we just left? As a kid, I would have never imagined being told as an American that I was not allowed to go to work. Even as states across the nation began to go into lockdown last spring, I was positive that there was no way Oklahoma would succumb to that. After all, we are southern!

So many things occurred in the past year that as a child I would not have been able to wrap my mind around: Being told I have to wear a mask everywhere I go, churches being fined for holding services, homeschooling my son because public school was shut down. Not to mention toilet paper being unavailable, the possibility of being forced to get a vaccine, and a rigged presidential election. The truth is, having a dream has turned from exhilarating and inspiring to dull and disappointing.

How Do We Dream Again?

I already touched on how to know which dreams are achievable, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was clearly aware of. As for myself, there is really only one thing that pulls me out of my “realist” mind-set and puts me back into a place where I can freely imagine my dream becoming a reality. Hope for the broken world around us to find peace and unity is my dream, which seems nearly impossible! To have a dream like that is non-sense if I base the possibility of it happening off of anything other than Christ. It is by Christ and the Word of God that a man can change.

We also pointed out that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a visionary. While this is true, he could never be more of a visionary than God the Father. The Creator of the Universe, the one who the angels worship singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” the one who can call fire from the sky and at the same time be as gentle as a lamb, He is the one who gives us the ability to dream.

Something Has to Change

I don’t know of many people who really enjoy change, especially when it comes to changing themselves. I know one change that many of us are currently trying to make is our physical appearance. Losing weight is hard work that takes time and determination, however,  it is nothing compared to trying to change our heart. But, changing our hearts is what has to be done for us to dream. Changing our heart is also a cure, the ONLY cure, for all of the evil in our world.

To change my heart, I will have to realize that my heart is not good in and of itself. I desperately need Christ to take control and rebuild me. The good news of the gospel is that exactly. He takes our heart of stone, turns it to flesh, and begins His work. The ability to have a dream in the midst of the current world we live in will come from Christ breathing on dead hearts and giving them life. Your dreams don’t have to be dead, and neither does your heart. Christ and the gospel is the answer to change. Do you know him?

Ultimately, I know my dream will come to pass. How?

Because, despite what the world looks like, I know my dream is the same dream our Holy God has. His dream is for the world to give Him glory. God wants to rescue the world and bring to pass the justice and mercy that is the very essence of his existence. His word tells us,

“For I am God, and there is no other, I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it.”  Isaiah 46:9-11

Bethany Dumbleton is the Chief Operations Officer for Counter Culture mom. She is first and foremost a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

Her husband and two children are her main ministry which overflows into her life ministry. She knows that our children follow our example. She strives to help parents grow in Christ, so they may shepherd their children biblically.

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