I've Been to the Mountaintop
The night before he was killed, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in Memphis and spoke words that still carry a kind of holy weight.
“I’ve been to the mountaintop.
And I’ve looked over.
And I’ve seen the Promised Land.”
He wasn’t speaking like a man chasing approval.
He was speaking like someone at peace with the cost of obedience.
What stays with me isn’t just the courage.
It’s the clarity.
He acknowledged the danger.
He named the threats.
And then he said something stunning.
“I may not get there with you.”
That line almost demands comparison with many of today’s public figures on every side of the ideological spectrum.
Dr. King didn’t place himself in the center.
He centered the cause.
He spoke about what needed to be done, not how he needed to be seen.
So much of modern public life feels inverted.
The mission fades into the background.
The spotlight becomes the goal.
Dr. King understood something many of us struggle to hold onto.
Leadership isn’t proven by visibility.
It’s proven by a willingness to step aside so something larger can move forward.
He knew faithfulness doesn’t guarantee comfort.
Conviction doesn’t ensure longevity.
And doing what’s right doesn’t mean we get to control how the story ends.
But it does mean we choose how we show up.
Some are called to see the finish line.
Others are called to make sure the path exists.
Both matter.
And sometimes the bravest faith is trusting God with an ending we may never witness.
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