What's the most famous speech in the world? I'm sure for a lot of people the answer comes back "I have a dream", or "Martin Luther King". And so when I saw that my Dad had been given the book 'Speeches that changed the world' as a present, it was to the speech of said title that I headed straight to. Reading it through it's very powerful, very encouraging, but having had it on my wall for the last three years at uni I know it fairly well now. But what I wasn't aware of was the speech he gave four and a half years later, in Memphis, Tennesee.
He starts with a story of how he was stabbed by "a demented black woman" whist autographing books, and relays how the knife was so close to his aorta that the New York Times, on reporting the incident, said that if he had sneezed he would have died. A few days later, able to read through some of the post he had received, one letter strikes him, one he'll never forget. It's a short, straightforward letter, but it is from a young white girl, ninth grade (age 14-15), who has heard of his misfortune, and she says she is "simply writing to say that I'm so happy you didn't sneeze". He goes on to say that he too is happy he didn't sneeze, listing all the things that have happened, all that he would have missed, and that might never have happened had he died.
And it's at this point he conveys how his life has been threatened many times, how even that morning as he flew, the plane was guarded all night beforehand and comprehensively searched and checked, how more threats have been made and questions raised about what people might try to do to him in the coming days and months. And his final paragraph is stunning, absolutely stunning, and had me in tears:
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really 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.
The following day, 4 April 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed by a sniper's bullet whilst standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennesee.
What a faith, what an example, what a challenge. Is this what it means to be a Christian dying to oneself and living for Christ?
And how gracious a God, to keep him from death until he was ready, to remove that fear and to replace it with that contentment, with that joy. And I know one day I'll be at the Promised Land with him, and see the glory of the Lord forever.
Above is a video of the final paragraph, and there is also a FULL transcript - see the last seven paragraphs for what I read in the book.
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