On November 4, 2008 history was made. Barack Obama exceeded the expectations of many who, without question, had doubts about the legitimacy of the American voting system. Many who only got the legal right to vote in 1965 could not believe they would ever see the day an African American man would be elected to the United States presidency. Me, I absorbed many varied opinions and trains of thought. Without question my opinion was guided by the words that were coming out of the candidates mouths.
John McCain’s opinions on the war, the financial state of the country and that nasty, public comment he made to his wife who teased him about losing hair all sufficed to draw that circle with the line through it on his face. Instead, I heard Barack Obama talk about unity and holding corporations accountable by saying if they want tax breaks they need to NOT outsource American jobs to other countries. He spoke of health care reform and God knows we need it. I think that’s the real point – God knows what we need.
I have to take a slight detour to talk about the effects on my son – you read his article in the Detroit News didn’t you? “Chance to Make History With Vote Too Strong to Ignore” raised quite a ruckus and many responded that James must be racist because he viewed his vote as an opportunity to make history. James likes to stir the pot and I think he enjoyed the ensuing dialog. I think about the effects on my daughter who is a rainbow coalition all by herself and who was disturbed by harsh, unloving words from Christian friends. Many in her coalition are white and quick to say this election should not be about race because race doesn’t matter. They could not understand that, as she points out, “race does matter, it will always matter because I will always be black.” And I’ve heard many so-called Christian conservatives say they don’t understand how people could vote for a baby killer, as if this election hung in the balance based on views about abortion!
Still on detour, my Pastor – you know I attend Detroit World Outreach, Ben Gibert is the Senior Pastor – spoke about answered prayer. He’s taught on this before, especially during celebrations honoring the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s the I Have a Dream speech. He says the problem is we refer to it as a speech but Dr. King was a man of God and it was a sermon, not a speech. Further, the world heard the speech on that historic day in Washington DC, but Rev. King preached that sermon in Detroit a month or so earlier. That prophetic sermon is a founding principle of Detroit World Outreach “A Church for all Colors”.
How many times have we seen that clip of Rev. King delivering the message in Washington DC? We know the words don’t we – “I may not get there with you but I have seen the mountain top…I have a dream that one day…content of their character not the color of their skin.” We like to credit that sermon to his theological background or his oratorical skills but dreams are prophetic impressions from God. The election of Barack Obama was the proof of Rev. Kings prophetic dream!
Let’s face it, if America is being judged for it’s evil, greed and lack of ethics then it stands to reason America can celebrate a man whose message is one of hope and prosperity; of ethics and freedom. These are qualities God himself seeks in His leaders. Clearly Obama is a man anointed for this job at this time. Clearly he is a man designated to help this country heal by uniting it as never before. Oh how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1) Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand (Matthew 12:25)
