The Dream Will Never Die
It was a hot day on August 28, 1963. Two-hundred fifty-thousand people crowded around the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial at the final rally of the Poor People’s March on Washington. The crowd waited to hear a young Baptist minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King had spent all afternoon in the Willard Hotel writing his allotted seven minute address. He began speaking at 3:47 p.m. When he finished nineteen minutes later, this nation would never be the same again.
The beginning section was listless and lifeless. Dr. King read from his prepared text using stilted phrases that left his listeners bored. He knew he wasn’t communicating the passion he felt or the message he wanted the crowd to hear.
In a decision that would echo through time, Dr. King abandoned his text and the part we know best was spoken entirely extemporaneously. From the very core of his being, his passion welled up as he looked at the multitudes and cried out, “I HAVE A DREAM!” He went on to paint pictures that were so clear and compelling that this speech is now regarded as the turning point of the Civil Rights movement.
Dr. King spoke from the passion he felt for the poor, the underprivileged and African-Americans. His passion combined with his core values of brotherhood, equality, justice, nonviolence, and racial harmony.
He painted images so real that people could see them happening. He spoke of his four little children who would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. He talked about white men and black men holding hands in brotherhood and dining together. These were images people could relate to immediately.
The I Have a Dream speech still challenges our minds, captivates our hearts, and catapults our wills to action. It is one of the most clear and compelling visions ever cast in human history. And the most exciting truth is that God has given you a vision, too. Your vision is how the world will be different when the vision is accomplished. Its a picture of how God will impact the world through you.
God’s vision is long-term. The fulfillment of your vision will take time and effort to come into focus and to become a reality. In fact, it may take the rest of your life. Truthfully, you may not live long enough to see your vision fulfilled. But even if you never see it come to pass, you will know the blessing of being used of God to nudge the snowball down the hill.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t live to see his vision realized. In many ways the vision has yet to be fulfilled. Although they murdered the dreamer, they couldn’t kill the dream. His vision lives on. Dare to dream a daring dream – for we serve a daring God.
© 2011 Designed to Serve®
Dr. Steve Lake is a retired educator with over 30 years experience in the American public schools. He has served in a variety of position, including teacher, elementary school principal, junior high principal, Associate Superintendent, retired from public education as Superintendent of Schools in Lincolnwood, IL. He has his Bachelors, Masters and Doctor of Education degrees from Northern Illinois University. For the past 25 years Steve has attended and been a member of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington and Northfield, IL. At Willow Creek Steve has taught adult classes on spiritual gifts, life purpose, and spiritual disciplines. He has ministered overseas in Angola, Zambia, Honduras, Germany, and Russia. Steve is co-founder of Designed to Serve, a ministry that equips Christians to live out their unique God-given calling. Steve is married and has two adult children who are married.
