Heroes: June 9

I'm sure I won't suprise you when I say that Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my heroes. When I think about a life lived like Christ's I think of Dr. King. He was committed to God, committed to justice, love, and peace. He was willing to live for his faith as well as to die for it--he did both with grace and beauty.

It saddens me that our broken world kills those who are filled by the Holy Spirit and goodness. It's as if, we can't handle so much goodness in our midst so we must destroy it.

Dr. King was a well educated man and yet he did not look down upon or belittle those who were not educated.

I've heard rumors that he wasn't a terrific husband and father but none of us are perfect and they are rumors-not proven facts. Besides, we were created for good, not perfection.

My grandmother whom I adore/d, thought he was a communist. I guess that was a common slur of the times in an attempt to discredit him. I imagine that she died without realizing that he was a great and honest man. I sometimes wonder if she ever heard him speak or read something he actually said or wrote. I think she would have liked what he had to say.

One of my favorite "stories" that I've heard about Dr. King is when he was attacked by a white woman. She stabbed him with a knife and yet he refused to press charges. He offered her forgiveness rather than punishment--he not only spoke of love, grace, and peace but he lived it out.

God, thank you for the life of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Amen!

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars...Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that"

"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."