Yesterday I finished reading The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. It is one of the most moving books I have ever read.

This man was gripped by a cause that was larger than life and to it he gave his life.

Although there is no way to list every quote that I would like to, here are some of my favorites:

• “Contrary to some shallow thinking, the responsibilities of the pastorate both stagger and astound the imagination. They tax the whole man.”

• “I have always felt that ultimately along the way of life an individual must stand up and be counted and be willing to face the consequences whatever they are. And if he is filled with fear he cannot do it. My great prayer is always for God to save me from the paralysis of crippling fear, because I think when a person lives with the fears of the consequences for his personal life he can never do anything in terms of lifting the whole of humanity and solving many of the social problems which we confront in every age and every generation.”

• “When you are aware that you are a symbol, it causes you to search your soul constantly – to go through this job of self-analysis, to see if you live up to the high and noble principles that people surround you with, and to try at all times to keep the gulf between the public self and the private self at a minimum.”

• “One of the frustrations of any young man is to approach the heights at such an early age. the average man reaches this point maybe in his late forties and early fifties. But when you reach it so young, your life becomes a kind of decrescendo. You feel yourself fading from the screen at a time you should just be starting to work toward your goal. Frankly, I’m worried to death. A man who hits the peak at twenty-seven has a tough job ahead. People will be expecting me to pull rabbits out of the hat for the rest of my life. If I don’t or there are no rabbits to be pulled, then they’ll say I’m no good.”

• “Often the path to freedom will carry you through prison.”

And we’re just getting started! There’s more to come!