Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I know that it’s all too obvious—the morning sunshine breaking though the darkness of the night always bringing a new day for each of us. It’s a simple action of the sun God threw into the sky, rising again and reminding us that no matter what yesterday was like—today is a brand new day.
But it’s not just a new day, but a new day full of new opportunities. And tomorrow will be the same, and each one to follow. Pretty simple, really.
With that assurance, though, the question always before us is—what will we do with the day? What will we do with each brand new day and the opportunities which each new day presents?
And the answer depends upon us, as it always has and always will.
We’re reminded of that on a day like today, where we recognize the life of one person who always believed that a better tomorrow for others could depend on what he did with his life today and every day. He believed that each day there were opportunities to shine a light in the darkness of someone else’s night.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was like each of us—not perfect, but created with unique God-given passions, potential and purpose. A man who refused to stand silent in the face of prejudice, injustice and wrong, and instead used the platforms God provided him to strive for purposes seemingly unattainable. Yet he tried anyway, believing that tomorrow could be a better day for us all and for us as a nation.
His life was cut short by a coward’s bullet and he died on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. The autopsy revealed that he had the heart of a sixty-year-old. He was thirty-nine. Maybe that happens when you commit the days of your life to make a difference in the lives of others. By acting on the opportunities of each new day he was given, Martin Luther King, Jr. began to change the face and heart of a nation.
And he did it with his actions and words, like those he shared before millions on August 28, 1963, against the backdrop of the Lincoln and Washington Memorials in Washington, DC, during his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech—
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…that one day…little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers…”
Each brand new day—and the opportunities it presents—may not require that we hold a mirror before the world to show it things that must be addressed for the good of all of us. But the unfolding of each day of our lives, requires action on our part—to make a positive difference in the world around us.
Without that, days will pass and the opportunities presented to make a difference in the lives of others around us may be lost forever. A loss which could result in a lifetime of hopelessness for others living in darkness, and who need to feel and embrace the hope God intended for their lives.
The morning sun has once again broken through a silent night of darkness—and a new day of opportunities to lift a life, make a difference, and change the world before us. It will happen every day, our whole life long.
The question for today, tomorrow and the rest of your life and mine, with each day we are given is this—What will we do with it?
Our answer will form the legacy, for good or not, which we leave in the lives of others—every day.
In His Name–Scott
