Rep. John Lewis battled tirelessly for civil rights inspired by a faith that humanity yearns to do what’s right, former President Barack Obama wrote in a moving tribute to his friend on Friday.

“He loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise,” Obama wrote after Lewis’s death from pancreatic cancer. “And through the decades, he not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice, but inspired generations that followed to try to live up to his example.”

He “embraced the principles of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience as the means to bring about real change — understanding that such tactics had the power not only to change laws, but to change hearts and minds as well,” added Obama, who in 2011 awarded the congressman ithe nation’s highest civilian honor — the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

And though he was exceptional, Lewis always believed that everyone could do exactly what he did, Obama recalled.

“He believed that in all of us, there exists the capacity for great courage, a longing to do what’s right, a willingness to love all people, and to extend to them their God-given rights to dignity and respect,” Obama wrote.

“And it’s because he saw the best in all of us that he will continue, even in his passing, to serve as a beacon in that long journey towards a more perfect union.”