Pursuing God’s Dream of Restoration

During the nineteenth century, at the height of slavery, when all hope seemed lost, countless slaves in the South heard of a city of hope. The dream of freedom had a name: Detroit. For many slaves who escaped from the Deep South, this city, the Detroit River—with freedom in Canada beyond it—was a dream that inspired them to risk their very lives. For scores of abolitionists and slaves alike, Detroit was the destination of hope.

The trek along the Underground Railroad, a system of safe houses and safe people, led escaped slaves to Detroit—for many, a year-long journey of over a thousand miles. This trek was fueled by the hope of freedom, opportunity, safety and, most of all, joy. The dream of joy is at the center of the heart of every woman, of every man. Often it’s the goal behind the goal, the greater dream of a thousand aspirations. For countless slaves, it fueled prayerful miles and expectant singing. Their dream may have started with the longing for freedom from the injustice and suffering of slavery, but there was something behind that dream.

What do we do when justice and freedom have been obtained? We live the life we were meant to live. This is the dream that is beyond justice—the dream of joy. Slaves would sing of the Jordan River, speaking figuratively of crossing the Detroit River into Windsor,Canada, finally being free of fear and the repercussions of their escape, which were often death or dismemberment.

For many of my ancestors, slavery was all they knew. They were born into the slave system, often separated from their parents and shipped off to fields throughout the South. They never knew the dream of freedom. So what is it in the heart of a woman that dares to dream of a world she knows nothing of, a world without rape or exploitation where she is free to choose her loved ones and run her hands through the hot, dense July air? Where does the dream of a boy come from, a dream of a fantastical world of play, when all he’s known is the work of slavery? I believe the quote of an unknown slave says it all: “All my life I been called a slave. They tell me I belongs to my master. That may be true about my body, but my soul remembers a time when I was free, so when I get a chance I will run.”

The Mission Statement of the Dream

I believe our soul remembers this dream because we’re made in the image of God. Like dusty light, this dream pokes and peeks into our world of injustice and suffering and connects powerfully with our soul, because it is the world we were made for, a world of joy. Nothing else will satisfy our longing in this world for the next. Nothing else will do.

All of humanity longs for this dream, whether we are conscious of it or not. Millions have risked their lives and are still risking their lives so the dream can come to pass.

A dream can literally change the world, as we see with the dream of Gary Haugen or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We often use the concept of a dream to refer to a wish, a desire or a hope. Real change, however, comes through conviction, passion, power and action. During the civil rights era that brought real and lasting change to millions of African Americans, it was the dream of one man coupled with the real actions of Whites, Blacks, Asians, Latinos and others that brought that dream to pass. During this current movement of activists and abolitionists, it is the dream of people like Gary that spurs micro-finance enterprises and multinational cooperatives, causes women and men to move across seas to work with the hurting and at risk, and changes the course of would-be affluent and powerful attorneys and politicians for the cause of justice. Dreams are powerful.

Dreaming is not incompatible with action; in fact, a dream of real substance, conviction and vision requires action. This is why mission exists instead of mere dreaming. We can’t wish the dream of God to pass. God invites us to pursue it. This is why the church exists.

R. York Moore
R. York Moorehttp://tellthestory.net/

R. York Moore is an innovator, strategist, revivalist and abolitionist. He serves as president and CEO for the Coalition for Christian Outreach. He is the author of several books, including most recently, Seen. Known. Loved.

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