“The time of penance has passed. It’s time to cross the Jordan and take the Promised Land.”
That was the message of the main speaker at a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday anniversary today.
The theme is common. Black preachers and politicians have used it for
the past 40-plus years. But this time, the speaker was a white guy. Not
only that, he was born into a prominent family in the same town once
active in the Civil Rights Movement. He was invited by the black
organization that sponsored the event, and he was elected to a local
office because of crossover voting. The black community, which
historically supports only black candidates, voted out the black
incumbent and elected the white guy.
Why? They trusted him. After forty years of fighting for
black-controlled government, they got the power and came full circle
and voted for the person they believed would do the best job. And by
the way, in case you are wondering, this white guy is not the
stereotypical, good-old boy redneck Southerner. He’s a committed
Christian who earned the position because of his professional and
personal integrity as well as his love for all people. Likewise, in the
same election, significant numbers of whites voted for a black
candidate over the white one. Ten years ago, it would never have
happened.
So, the white-guy speaker spoke to an audience of hundreds about the
number 40. The number 40 is biblically important. God caused the rain
to fall forty days and forty nights in the Great Flood. The Israelites,
because of their unbelief that they could secure the Promised Land,
wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Likewise, this southern
community has struggled for forty years.
In 1965, the speaker noted, “The Lord saw the repression and injustice,
and the Lord raised up a Moses, Martin Luther King Jr.” In doing so,
the black race left Egypt, but the community chose to wander. Yet,
while the different cultures and political groups fought for control,
the Promised Land still beckoned. Forty years, he said, has always been
a period of probation in The Bible. It has been a time that has to pass
for something else to happen.
And in 2005, he suggested, the town saw change. Local leaders from
different backgrounds and political parties came together to work for
the welfare of all. They worked together in civic organizations,
churches, prayer groups, social clubs and economic development.
Then one day, as local leaders were gathered in an office for prayer
before the work day began, a call came from halfway around the earth.
Being in prayer, they almost didn't answer the phone. But they did, and
the call was from an international company that was interested in their
community. It needed to locate immediately. Within a few months, the
company was in place offering much needed, well-paying jobs. Other
companies came, and others expanded, and still others are considering
the town.
There is still much work to be done, but like the single flower in the
cold wasteland of Narnia, “I see the signs, I see the flower,” the
speaker said. Where does the town go from here? “Just like the people
of Israel, we determine our direction. The Lord didn’t just give it
(the Promised Land) to them. They had to go in and take it. We have to
go in and take the Promised Land.”
Taking that treasure, he continued, means having a teachable spirit,
acknowledging past injustices, losing the negative attitudes and
gaining the positive ones.
Sounds like that town has just found its Joshua.
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