The Journey: Forty Days of PromiseCelebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity
Day Seventeen: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint
Day Seventeen: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint[1]
African American believers rediscovered their pristine identity in Christ. They understood, therefore, that it was their spiritual act of worship to be faithful to that renewed and purified new creation in Christ.
African Americans’ new identity in Christ redefined how they related to others who had sinned against them. Charlie had been enslaved by Mars’ Bill who kept his back constantly sore from whippings. He escaped, joined the “Yanks,” and became a Christian. As a freeman, he met Mar’s Bill again thirty years later.
Recognizing each other, Bill says, “Charlie, do you remember me lacerating your back?”
When Charlie replies, “Yes, Mars,” Bill asks, “Have you forgiven me?”
By now, a large crowd has gathered, for Charlie and Bill are some distance apart and talking loud. After Charlie shouts that he has indeed forgiven his old, cruel master, Bill is chagrined. “How can you forgive me, Charlie?”
I Serve a God of Love
Charlie’s answer is instructive. “What is in me, though, is not in you. I used to drive you to church and peep through the door to see you all worship, but you ain’t right yet, Marster. I love you as though you never hit me a lick, for the God I serve is a God of love . . .”
Old Mars’ Bill then moves toward Charlie, hand held out, tears streaming down his face. “I am sorry for what I did.”
Charlie grants forgiveness. “That’s all right, Marster. I done left the past behind me.”
The Power of Redeeming Love
Charlie then testifies to Christ’s redemptive power.
“I had felt the power of God and tasted his love, and this had killed all the spirit of hate in my heart years before this happened. Whenever a man has been killed dead and made alive in Christ Jesus, he no longer feels like he did when he was a servant of the devil. Sin kills dead, but the spirit of God makes alive. I didn’t know that such a change could be made, for in my younger days I used to be a hellcat.”
From hellcat to heaven saint. From a hateful spirit to Christlike love. That’s the power of our new identity in Christ.
Learning Together from Our Great Cloud of Witnesses
1. African American converts celebrated the new nurture and the new nature. How aware are you of your new relationship to Christ as a son or daughter of the King? How do you apply your spiritual aristocracy to your personal life and relationships?
2. How aware are you of your new identity in Christ as a saint cleansed by God? How do you apply your spiritual nobility in order to overcome sin and to forgive others?
[1]Excerpted, modified from, and quoted from Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Purchase your copy at 40% off for only $10.00 at www.rpmministries.org.
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