I Dream of a Day

Obama will be inaugurated as the President of the United States. The first black president, and on the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. And Martin Luther King would have wept for joy if he were still alive.

And I thought about how such dreams can come true, even when you do not live to see them come to pass. For these dreams were never our dreams all along - they were birthed from and rooted in God's own dream. Thus will they last beyond us, thus shall they endure - we are simply stewards of these dreams, and we must pass them on to the next generation.

"To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high."
(From In Flanders Fields, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD)

I was sitting on a chair last Saturday, telling a story to a class of children, Chinese, Malay and Indian. And I felt a sense of joy, because I was reminded of my nation's pledge: "We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion..."

I dream of a day when I can share with an entire new generation of the love of Christ. Though I may not be able to share the gospel openly, I pray that God will use me to sow many, many little seeds of His love, grace and truth into the hearts of all these little ones.

And a lot of these children come from poor families, and some even from broken and/or abusive families. But seeing them respond so happily, so joyfully... I know that this is what my Father in heaven has called me to do on earth. To be a voice of one crying out in the desert, preparing a new generation to be ready for the Lord.

I dream of a day when every child shall hear the good news that he or she is not worthless. That he learns that he is truly loved, and is preciously unique in God's eyes. That he learns the truth that there is a wonderful plan and an excellent destiny that awaits him, if only he will be willing to take that step of faith.

This is my story; this is His glory.

I dream of a day when a new generation shall arise with selfless faith, out of the smouldering ashes of apartheid and prejudice. A new day that we shall no longer be divided by race or language, but to declare with one voice that we are fellow brothers, bound by hope and bonded by love. That we shall no longer be judged by our skins nor by our status, but simply by our characters. That all men are made equal in the hands of God. That God Himself shall be our peace, breaking down every wall of hostility.

And so we shall, hand in hand as one, proclaim peace to the nations.

Then will the eyes of those blind to the poor be opened,
And the ears of those deaf to the oppressed be unstopped.
Then will the legs of those who sit, leap up to serve in love,
And the tongues of the silent, speak up for justice and truth.

I dream of a new day. And it will come one day.