Yesterday being Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, I came across this portion of one of his speeches:
“We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood — it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, ‘Too late.’”
Two phrases in his speech grab my attention — “fierce urgency of now,” and “too late.” As Christians, I believe we are here and now because this is where God wants us to be. He has placed us where we are and equipped us with his potential and resources. Not so we can live life for ourselves, but so we can meet the fierce urgencies of now that swirl around us. But “now” doesn’t last forever. If we fail to use what God has given us to meet the need we see, then in our own handwriting we will read the pathetic words “Too Late” across our own community.
What fierce urgency of now is waiting on your God-given potential to meet its need?
Live The Mission,
Greg
