Sixty years ago I was a student at Pioneer Middle School. One of my favorite instructors was Mr. Robert Winters. As my English teacher, Mr. Winters affirmed my abilities with words. He gave me an A+ on a term paper with a green cover that I wrote for him when our class was studying Greek mythology. It’s no wonder I saved it!

Neither Mr. Winters nor I knew at the time how much of my life would be devoted to stringing words together for other people to read. But I will forever be grateful to this man who believed in me and encouraged my efforts. Words have been my stock in trade as a pastor and as a freelance writer.

Another research project Mr. Winters assigned our class dealt with dreams and dreaming. Although I did not keep that term paper, I remember discovering the correlation between the depth of sleep one attains and their ability to dream. A person must attain a certain level of unconsciousness in order to visualize what we refer to as dreams.

This past Monday, we honored the memory of a man whose dream was grounded in the unconsciousness of a nation failed to recognize the injustices and prejudices that punctuated our society. Against the backdrop of racial inequality and boycotts remedy the same, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of waking up to a new day.

He dreamed of a nation in which “liberty and justice for all” is not simply a nice sounding conclusion to our pledge our allegiance to a flag but a way of life. His king-size dream was of a nation where individuals are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. He dreamed of a day when the marginalized of society would know the same freedom that the ancient Israelites tasted as they left Egyptian captivity for a promised land of milk and honey.

Dr. King, like I, grew up as a preacher’s kid. He went on to follow in his father’s footsteps and became a pastor. I did, too. He, like me, discovered God’s dream for humanity in the pages of the Old Testament.

One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament reveals God’s dream. It is found in Micah 6:8… “He has shown thee O mortal what is good and what the Lord desires of thee, but to love justice, and do mercy and walk humbly with thy God.”

God’s dream, like that of Dr. King’s, calls a sleeping nation (be it ancient Israel or modern-day America) to put feet to their faith and actions to their words voiced in weekly worship. God’s dream focuses the Creator’s vision for His creation. It visualizes a world where those created in God’s image courageously embrace His character and reflect His values all the while humbly getting to know Him.

Because this year’s commemoration of MLK Day coincided with the inauguration of our 47th President, our nation was doubly poised to pause. This week is an invitation to recall the dream of a man who died fifty-seven years ago at the tender age of thirty-nine. It also is a week that calls us to pray for the one elected two months ago for whom humility does not come naturally. May we call on God to guide this newly-elected leader of the free world even as we ask God to imbue Donald Trump with an ear to hear His heart.

And lest we forget, this is a time for dreaming our own dreams. It’s a time to picture what we long to see our country become. I don’t know about you, but I’m dreaming that the divided states of America will find common ground in principles clearly articulated in God’s Word. I’m dreaming that the One under whom our nation was birthed nearly two-hundred-and-fifty years ago will once again be revered as the source of justice, mercy and humility. And that the nation we call home will once again be known as the United States of America.

Guest columnist Greg Asimakoupoulos is a former chaplain at Covenant Living at the Shores in Mercer Island.