Do God's Will-Preparing for 2018 (Part 3)

Ephesians 5:17 "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” 

Martin Luther King’s  final speech was on April 3, 1968, the day before he was assassinated. If you read it in context, it is a remarkably hopeful message, given the pressure of those momentous days. Because we know what happened the next day, we tend to miss the optimistic tone. Though you can sense the unrelenting pressure of opposition and death threats, underneath there is bedrock faith. Dr. King frames the whole message this way. Suppose God were to come to him and ask this question, “Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?” He goes on to survey all of human history, starting with Egypt, going on to Greece and Rome, then skipping the centuries to the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, then on to the days of Abraham Lincoln, then on to the very troubled times of 1968 when the whole fabric of the nation seemed about to unravel. Here is his imagined answer to the Almighty’s imagined question:

"Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, “If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy.” Now that’s a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That’s a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars."

He goes on to talk about what it means to live at such a crucial moment of history and I think we should remember them as we face the challenges of the New Year:

"Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

A thousand years from now, we will still remember those words. I am always struck by this simple sentence in his final paragraph: “I just want to do God’s will.”

Those seven words summarize how we all ought to face the future, understanding the fierce urgency of now, grateful for the privilege of being alive for such a time as this, wherever God has placed us:

I just want to do God’s will in 2018. How about you?