Saturday marks the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Delivered from the steps of Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial, King spoke of a world in which his children would be judged by the content of their character vs. the color of their skin.

Tomorrow, Fox News host Glenn Beck will hold a rally where an estimated 100,000 people will attend. Billed as a rally to honor the troops, both Beck and Sarah Palin will speak. This rally, in this place, on this day has caused some controversy and criticism.

Not sure that it is deserved or not, but it is interesting that we still tend to define ourselves by what divides us–instead of that which unites us.

The essence of “I have a dream” was unity, equality, and love. Something that may be lost on both sides of the debate about Beck’s “Honor Rally.”

King’s dream is a gospel dream, a dream where everyday Americans across the land live a “red letters life” in the service of others.

I have that dream too.

I dream of millions of Christians opening their hearts and homes to orphans here in the US and around the world who need families. Adoption, as John Piper termed it, is the “visible Gospel.” I long for the day when a multi-racial families are the rule–not the exception.

I dream of freedom for girls trapped in slavery much worse than we could ever really imagine. A slavery where they are raped for profit day after day. Will we meet that challenge as King’s generation met theirs?

The challenge of injustice did not end on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King new that justice was active–a verb–something you did with your life. If you are to “bring justice” to something, you must act against injustice.