says we’ll navigate much of our lives with them, just like Karl navigates
his. Many of us have arms and feet we can move to help others, but we
choose not to. We shy away from people we don’t understand or who
intimidate us because they’re different from us. We have eyes to see
people who are hurting, but we only watch because we’re scared if we get
closer, it will disrupt what we’ve spent a lifetime making orderly. We
have minds to understand the depths of others’ pain, but we just
empathize without getting involved because we’re scared of what might
happen if we do. Karl lost the ability to use his arms and legs, but he
learned to overlook this as an impediment. Many of us are limited by
what we have but don’t use. Karl didn’t want to be limited by what he had
but couldn’t use. Being stripped of so many capabilities, he was forced to
go deeper and find something worth the chase. Karl put his trust in Jesus.
Karl was convinced after reading the claims Jesus had made that he could
actually change the world using only his tongue and his eyes and his
mind.
Karl and I went to law school together. We met on the first day of class.
He was a hard guy to miss in the hallway with the machine he used to get
around. He was stunningly kind and smart and loving. What was most
striking about him, though, was he found a freedom in his life most of us
are still looking for in ours.
Karl and I sat for the bar exam at the same time and he finished
before me. You know why? He’s got a fast tongue. Since passing the bar
on his first try, Karl has been working at the attorney general’s office. He
chases bad guys for a living, running toward injustice with passion and
purpose. His quick mind and even quicker tongue have proven to be more
than enough for him to make his mark on the world, to do justice, and to
express his love for God in many ways. Karl has had five cases go to
California’s supreme court. He won five times. Not only this, but he’s