Devotion Thirty Four
April 4, 2022
On the evening of April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a mere 39 years old.
While Dr. King’s life was short it was certainly influential, impactful, and inspirational. Dr. King gave his life to God’s dream of one human family living together in peace on this beautiful Earth.
To live into that reality, King had the courage to confront not only racism but economic injustice, militarism, violence in all of its forms including war, toxic nationalism, greed, and other forces that work against the dream of God.
King’s aim was not to gain notoriety for himself but to bring the world closer to the reality of God, on Earth as it is in heaven.
Here are some quotes from Dr. King to inspire you today:
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.
Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.
Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
And while we are being inspired by Dr. King, let’s also remember that today is the anniversary of Dr. Maya Angelou’s birth. So here is some inspiration from her:
Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.
The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
It is impossible to struggle for civil rights, equal rights for blacks, without including whites. Because equal rights, fair play, justice, are all like the air: we all have it, or none of us has it. That is the truth of it.
The hope, the hope that lives in the breast of the black American, is just so tremendous that it overwhelms me sometimes.
Prayer
Give thanks for all those who have gone before us who have helped create the road that leads to flourishing life for all of Creation. Think about how you are part of making that road for those who will come after you. May we freely give all of the courage and creativity we have to this blessed world. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 