It’s The Journey - Coretta Scott King

1927–2006

Coretta Scott King stood for peace. Even after her husband, Martin Luther King Jr., was violently assassinated, she spent her life dedicated to finding avenues of nonviolent change. After her husband’s death, she founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, spoke at peace rallies around the world, organized and participated in rallies for civil rights, and inspired people across the globe to embrace peace and love rather than violence and hatred.

Coretta’s husband, as we all know, had a dream. Coretta had a dream too. She had a dream of what she and her husband called the Beloved Community—an interreligious, interracial, and international community that embraced tolerance and respect for all cultures.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards were created to recognize African American authors and illustrators of children’s books that demonstrate the values that Coretta and her husband stood for. Christian, Judaic, Islamic, Hindu, and Chinese symbols are all represented in the seal that is affixed to any book that wins the King Award. Coretta was a Christian, but her influence reached people of all religions.

The Bible makes it clear that one day there will be peace on earth. True peace. Of course we know there isn’t peace right now. In fact, Jesus said that although we can have a spiritual peace in him, we will still have trials and sorrows (see John 16:33).

If trials and sorrows are inevitable, what’s the point of working toward peace—the type of peace where all cultures tolerate and respect each other? Won’t our efforts be futile?

Have you heard the saying “It’s the journey, not the destination”? Practicing and embracing peaceful tolerance and respect will do you good. The apostle Paul tells us to do all we can to live in peace with everyone (see Romans 12:18). Peter tells us that if we want to enjoy life and be happy we must “search for peace, and work to maintain it” (1 Peter 3:11).

Being a peacemaker may not change the world, but it will change you, and it may change the lives of some of the people you come in contact with. That’s a pretty good outcome for your journey, isn’t it?

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

Matthew 5:9