God was ahead of his time

What else am I going to talk about today but the inauguration of President Barak Obama. Everyone keeps talking about this being an historic election. They keep saying this changes everything. For months I wondered why. Has everything changed just because he is a black man? That seemed silly to me because I have always judged a person, not by the color of their skin, or by their country of origin but what they say and do and believe.

The truth is that Barak Obama talks a good game. He is a man who brought hope to the country in a time when there was a strong sense that we needed to change some things. This came long before the economic markets tumbled. People had lost faith in leadership and were looking for someone who understood them.

The same thing happened in 1980 when Ronald Reagan was elected President and to a degree in 1992 when Bill Clinton took office. The American people want a President who understands them. I saw this in a new light today as the President took the oath of office. Standing around the television sets in the Charlotte Airport over 100 people had gathered to watch this event. Most of the people were either young (under thirty) or African American. When he finished the oath they cheered.

That's when I got it. Barak's election signaled to the African American community that someone like them could be the President. There was now going to be a man in the White House who understood some of what they have experienced growing up black in America. The same was true with the young people. They identified with a man who uses a Blackberry and communicates through e-mail, twitter and the web. He was one of them. And he was ready to work with them to build a better world.

It made me think about the fact that God was way ahead of his time. He did the same type of outreach that Obama has done. He became a man and walked among us. He showed the people that he bled, he hungered, he sweat just like them. His his heart ached just like theirs did and he lived with hopes and dreams. No wonder the whole world came out for him on that day historic day that he entered Jerusalem.

I wish our new President well. I will pray for him. He has captured the imagination of our nation and now he holds our future in his hands. I pray we will join with him and work together to build a better future. As for God, I will praise him and honor him and continue to share the good news that he has a hope and a future for us all.

Cal