Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address closes with the fervent hope “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”.
His three-minute speech to dedicate Gettysburg’s Civil War cemetery followed Edward Everett’s two-hour oration.
People were leaving as he stood to speak, maybe prompting his comment, that “the world will little note or long remember what we say here:”.
Yet ironically, his address is now enshrined in America’s national identity and purpose.
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial a hundred years later, Dr Martin Luther King addressed thousands of freedom marchers, harnessing their hopes for civil rights and ending racism.
His “I have a dream” speech includes desiring his children to be judged by the quality of their character, not the colour of their skin; and he roused the crowd with a vision for Americans of every race or creed to be “free at last, thank God almighty, free at last!”
Great speeches like these can change the course of history. For had Churchill’s messages not defied the Nazi juggernaut and inspired Britain and the Allies towards victory, World War II may have destroyed us.
“Friends, Romans and countrymen,” declares Shakespeare’s Mark Antony, turning his audience against Caesar’s assassins and cynically claiming that “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones”.
However, we can keep the good coming by tapping into Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which the Bible records as a summary of personal wisdom and ethical behaviour.
It spans across racial, political or social divides, and avoids language that might inflate oversize egos or intimidate anyone who is browbeaten by life.
Our personal world may never revolve around major events, academic expertise, public proclamations or other high-profile action.
Yet we may find that casual comments in everyday conversation can open the promise of new horizons that unleash unsuspected skills; or revive long-lost dreams with renewed courage to challenge any sense of failure that lingers around them.
We may be surprised to discover that God is behind comments like these, for he loves us and wants us to see our potential from his perspective.
Then, as we grow in his grace and creativity, our attitudes, actions and words can reveal his availability for anyone around us who needs a lift.
Noel Mitaxa
On behalf of a church near you, inviting you to explore his love
