The Forty-Day Journey of Promise
Day Thirteen: It’s Wonderful to Be Forgiven!
Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.
“Good-by, My Brother, Good-by”
*Continued from Day Twelve…
Positioned in front of the firing squad, Chaplain White asks Private Mapps one last time, “Do you feel that Jesus will be with you?”
“Yes,” he replies.
“Do you put all your trust in him?”
“I do,” is his answer.
“Do you believe that you will be saved?”
“I do; for though they may destroy my body, they cannot hurt my soul.”
White then prays this benediction.
“Eternal God, the Master of all the living and Judge of all the dead, we commit this our dying comrade into thy hands from whence he came. Now, O my Lord and my God, for thy Son’s sake, receive his soul unto thyself in glory. Forgive, him—forgive, O thou Blessed Jesus, for thou didst die for all mankind, and bid them to come unto thee, and partake of everlasting life. Save him, Lord—save him, for none can save but thee, and thee alone. Amen. Good-by, my brother, good-by.”
The order is now given: “Ready! Aim! Fire!” All earthly life extinguished. Eternal life commences.
White brilliantly, lovingly, and scripturally enlightened Mapps to see that it’s horrible to sin, but wonderful to be forgiven. Skillfully he wove together ancient Scripture and pressing need.
Turning of Heart
Private Mapps’ response to Chaplain White’s death-bed ministry offers one example of how God reconciled an African American to Himself. Through interviews, slave narratives, autobiographies, and letters, we are fortunate to have a multitude of first-hand accounts of personal conversion experiences.
These vivid descriptions help us to understand the literal turning of heart (metanoia—repentance, change of mind), transformation of identity, and reorientation of personhood that occurred at the salvation of African Americans. We have much to learn from them about how to witness to any oppressed, marginalized people, how to explain the need for a Savior, how to encourage repentance, how to offer the grace of forgiveness, and how to explain the changes that occur in one’s nurture and nature at salvation.
Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)
1. Like Chaplain White, when sharing the Gospel, how can you weave together the horrors of sin and the wonders of Christ’s grace?
2. What change of mind and heart took place in your life at your point of salvation?
