Do you have a dream? What is it that motivates you to do what you do?
In 1867, D.L. Moody took a trip to England. During that trip, Moody sat in a park talking with an evangelist named Henry Varley. Varley looked at Moody and said, "The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to Him." Those words ignited a fire in Moody's soul. He went on to become one of the greatest evangelists and soul winners in the history of the church.
A young divinity student named Martin read the works of Mahatma Gandhi. He was impressed by Gandhi's commitment to non-violent social change, and with the results his work wrought in colonial India. Martin Luther King took that philosophy of non-violence and incorporated it into his deeply held Christian convictions of justice and equality. He became the driving force behind the greatest cultural shift in the history of the United States.
In the early 1900s, motivational author Orison Swett Marden said, "All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers."
What's your dream?
This past week, we honored the legacy of Dr. King, whose words and actions embodied the aspirations of the American Civil Rights Movement. He was already a living legend in April, 1968 when he was tragically gunned down in Memphis. His influence only increased in death as in a very real sense he became a martyr to the cause of justice for African Americans. The words of his final speech to striking Memphis sanitation workers became prophetic, as he said, "I may not get there with you, but we as a people will get to the promised land." 24 hours later, he was dead.
Dr. King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech is undoubtedly one of the most effective and important addresses in our nation's history. It is unique in that it is a deeply personal statement of a very public figure. If you read the complete text of the address, he begins by giving an overview of the problem - that the promise of freedom in the Emancipation Proclamation has not yet been realized by blacks in America. But King sounded a positive note, saying he was confident the situation could and would be changed. He urged his listeners to not "wallow in the valley of despair" because despite the present difficulties, he still had a dream.
Reading through the speech again today, I was struck by the personal passion of the man, and how his dream was the singular focus of his efforts, the passion that motivated and drove him. I was compelled to ask myself, 'what is your dream?' What is it that fuels my passion? What motivates me to do what I do? And perhaps more importantly, are the things that I am doing helping to accomplish my dreams? Am I, to paraphrase Thoreau, moving confidently in the direction of my dreams?
On a recent Sunday at my home church, we heard the story of Marlon's dream. In our community there is no park where special needs children can play. Several years before, Marlon became aware of the need, and he thought it would be nice if there was such a place in town, but that's as far as it went. Then God brought a special needs child into Marlon's family, and what had been a nice idea suddenly became a dream, a passion, and a call to action. To date, Marlon's efforts have resulted in close to one million dollars being raised to build the park. Very soon his dream will become a reality, and a huge blessing for special needs children and their families in our area.
It is still true today: God does great things through people who dream big dreams. He wants to use you and me to impact our world, to right wrongs, to bring about great change, to bring people into His Kingdom. But first, we must allow Him to instill in us a dream that sets our souls on fire.
What's your dream?
Thank you, brother, for this encouraging word. I have been sometimes awestruck by the expansiveness of the dream the Lord our God has placed in my heart, namely "launching a movement to get church folks to care about fatherless, visionless, hopeless (low levels of hope that is) and aimless youth to awaken to righteousness and purpose through mentoring and role modeling efforts of local churches and community organizations"
I am doing this work locally in the Oakland/Richmond CA area, but I have been carrying this burden for a national movement to get God's sleeping giant to awaken to our calling to "pure religeon - undefiled before God.. helping the widows (single mothers?) and fatherless...
God bless you sir. Please reply.
Darryl McMillon
Posted by: Darryl McMillon | Friday, January 25, 2008 at 07:00 AM
I am so inspired when my passion of, "ONE LOVE" is enhanced in any form. I'm a 46 year old white male that grew up during the sixties and seventies. During that time the tern segregation should have been replaced with the term and essence of unity. Being a proud member of God's Hall of Fame, I have struggled within which had me in trouble with drugs and ultimately... prison. But I praise and give glory to God for allowing me the opportunity to experience all of that turbulence. I stand strongly on the great divine message that Dr. Martin Luther King that graced our ignorant society with so many years ago. Today, as he predicted, the message not only lives vibrantly, but becomes more radiant as each generation moves up the ladder. Please click on my link and read what God has put in my path. I'm so excited and I'm back in school learning Information Systems in order to better share my message in today's network oriented technology. Living in LOVE with all my brothers and sisters is mega-bliss and gives glory to our KING JESUS! Hope you enjoyed and may God bless your every precious fiber. Check out my little page: http://bahud.spaces.live.com/default.aspx
Posted by: Barry Hudson | Friday, January 25, 2008 at 01:57 PM