Love Wins
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr.
The world is a changed place because Martin Luther King Jr. chose to listen to the truths that God placed on his heart and answer the call to lead with love. Today, we not only celebrate the accomplishments and legacy of this great man, but we have the opportunity to reflect on what we can learn from the life of someone so committed to justice, equality, grace, and love. For me, it is a reminder that each of us has a vital role to play in the lives of those around us, and that if we lead with love, we can break down barriers and build-up relationships that transform our personal lives and the communities around us.
In the collective rally cry for positive change in our world, we can’t lose sight of the most fundamental building block …love.
The God that empowered MLK to stand and fight for what was right, is the same God that calls each of us to shine light into darkness and lead with love in even the smallest of moments. Each step to love our neighbors, each move to care for those less fortunate than us, each moment we take to show grace and love to those in our lives, is the same call that MLK answered. It is so easy to feel dwarfed by the great accomplishments of those who have come before us, but that’s often where we let ourselves off the hook. We may or may not be the ones to lead in such a large way, but we are all the ones being empowered to step-up in love.
Each of us is called to be light, asked to lead with love, and that’s something every single one of us can accomplish.
My hope is that today we all take a moment to think about how or where we answer the call to lead with love. I hope that we can see the collective power of our lights strung together to shine brightly into dark places. Together, we have the opportunity to give the everlasting gift of a love that shatters boundaries and drives away hate. It takes small moments, little steps, everyday graces, to live into the bounty of change possible when we respond with love always. We have been given the same love, the same grace, the same power to be lights that MLK was, so the question is, what are we going to do with them? How are we going to let love win in our lives?
Imagine the brightness possible if we all listen to the same quiet whisper in our hearts to lead with love.