Sean Smith, an African American man, recounts a time when he invited a white man to his house who bluntly told him that he “hated black people.”
Sean shared how he stopped the man right there. He said, “Hey, man. You have no reason to hate anybody else.”
Sean asked, “Can I just share with you something that happened to me?” He shared how his dad was murdered by a white police cop. “And for the record,” he said, “I’ve got great respect for police officers; I’ve got friends and relatives on the police force and I support them and I pray for them.”
Sean went on to tell the man that the particular cop that shot his dad was not godly, and for that matter, didn’t even honor the oath. They had a background in the KKK. It was proven in San Jose in a court case that this officer shot his dad and called him that racial six-letter word for African American that starts with ‘n’ that should never be used by anyone, in his estimation — not a rapper, not anybody.
They sicced their dog on Sean’s dad and sprayed mace in his eyes. They cornered him one night out at Stevens Creek Boulevard in San Jose and drove him, chased him down a field and emptied three rounds in his back. He was dead on arrival at the hospital that night.
The white man listened to Sean’s story, so Sean went on to say, “I get it. I understand it. And you know what? If it wasn’t for Jesus, I’d have every reason to hate you and your race. But Jesus Christ came in my heart, and He’s changed that. And man, I’ve got nothing but love for you.”
The white man started crying at Sean’s response. Sean started crying too, and they both got on their knees and cried out to the Lord. The white man asked Jesus to be the Lord of his life, and he was radically transformed. He ended up becoming Sean’s right-hand man on the streets, and together they shared the love of Jesus with many people and saw people get radically saved and transformed!
It is the love of God — this gospel — that reaches. It knows no boundaries. It is a mercy and a grace that comes from the Father above and says, “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done; I’m not going to stop loving you.”
It is a kind of love that can so overwhelm you that you have a surplus to love people that were previously your enemies and make them family from that point on. {eoa}
Shawn Bolz is a TV host, author, producer and a Christian minister. He has been leading conversations in the church, entertainment industry and in social justice that have helped believers connect their faith to culture in a transformative way. He is an author of several bestselling books including Translating God; Keys to Heaven’s Economy; Breakthrough: Prophecies, Prayers & Declarations; and Through the Eyes of Love. Shawn is also a contributing journalist online to CBN News Network and Charisma News Network, along with Faith-links online.
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