God does not forget his children who are the victims of evil forces. He gives us the interior resources to bear the burdens and tribulations of life. When we are in the darkness of some oppressive Egypt, God is a light unto our path. He imbues us with the strength needed to endure the ordeals of Egypt, and he gives us the courage and power to undertake the journey ahead. When the lamp of hope flickers and the candle of faith runs low, he restoreth our souls, giving us renewed vigor to carry on. He is with us not only in the noontime of fulfillment, but also in the midnight of despair.

Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love

Today is a day we set aside to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I fully believe that if he were alive today, this great defender of civil rights would be among the leaders in the movement to welcome GLBT Christians into full membership of the church. This is a man who understood the gift of the church ... the duty of the church ... to give the bread of life to any who seek it no matter what their station in life. His words, and his actions in the past, prove that he was a man who understood that God is not only color blind, but blind to any of the other differences we want to make about one another. We are all God's children, and none of us are favorites.

Dr. King offers us words of hope and strength as we struggle not only for acceptance by the church but the struggle we face in accepting ourselves as loved children of God. We are not forgotten by God, though evil forces conspire to strangle our humanity and our dignity. We are not forgotten by God, though evil forces seek to destroy us and lock us out of the church. We are in an oppressive Egypt as GLBT Christians, slaves to the powerful people who run the organized churches. But we have the power and the courage to undertake the journey that lies before us ... a journey that leads right into the arms of God, whether the church ever opens its doors to us or not.

Our lamps of hope may flicker and our faith may run low, but God will not forget us. We are promised renewed vigor ... we are promised we will run and not grow weary. God is always with us whether we win the victory of full acceptance by ourselves, our families, or our churches ... or whether we are in despair because we cannot accept ourselves or cannot reach our families or cannot open the locked door of the church. God is our light ... in times of joy and sadness. Dr. King understood that. We must learn that hard lesson, too.

"You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light."
-- Psalm 18:28