On Sunday, July 4, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. discussed the ideals of the American dream in a speech by the same name.
In it, he referenced the Bible's influence on America's founding fathers and the concept of "Imago Dei" -- Latin for "image of God." It's the biblical concept that humanity bears a likeness to God; and as His image bearers, all of us inherently have value placed within us and the capacity to have fellowship with God.
Almost 50 years after his assassination, the country once again honors the life and legacy of Dr. King with a federal holiday -- a time to reflect on King's calling and the countless others who came before him as well as those today who carry on the bright torch of justice that drives out darkness.
We as a nation have benefited from that work, having the opportunity to live, work, and break bread with people who don't always look like us. We should not take for granted the huge strides we have made as a country.
Yet the work is not finished. Until every American, no matter where we are from -- whether a lonely country farm or a chic city loft, live out the philosophy captured in Dr. King's words: that "there are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God's keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God."