Dear friends,
Last evening I read an interview that literally brought me to tears. It’s natural to wonder how we would behave under the worst circumstances, whether we would stand by our friends in the face of danger or our faith in the face of persecution. Well, it’s hard to imagine worse circumstances than being imprisoned on death row for 30 years for a crime you did not commit.
And yet Ray Hinton found peace, and found the ability to forgive. He speaks honestly about the hell he was put through, and about the racist people who put him there; he calls it like he sees it, and yet he is big enough and wise enough and blessed enough by God and the mother who raised him to find life and joy in forgiving his enemies.
I’m sure Ray Hinton’s faith, his view of God and heaven and hell, isn’t exactly the same as mine. But I challenge you to read his interview and not come away certain that he has been truly filled by the Spirit. What a testimony.
May grace and peace and the might of Christ’s forgiveness be with all of us,
Andrew