A Word from Bob: You’re reading Part 2 of a blog mini-series on One America; Two Experiences. I’ve taken my thoughts from chapter 10 of my book Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. You can read Part 1 here: Racial Reconciliation: Understanding 2 Vastly Different Views of America.
We’ve Come This Far by Faith: The Drama of Redemption
Our worldview makes a world of difference. As African Americans journeyed from enslavement to emancipation, they faced the same spiritual questions that we all face when we encounter inexplicable suffering.
Nellie, a former slave from Savannah, Georgia, shared her confusion.
“It has been a terrible mystery, to know why the good Lord should so long afflict my people, and keep them in bondage—to be abused, and trampled down, without any rights of their own—with no ray of light in the future.”[i]
It is difficult enough to endure personal suffering and ponder God’s purposes. The spiritual task grows even more challenging when we, like Nellie, open our eyes to a world of unjust suffering.
Delivered from Bondage: Leaning on the Lord by Gleaning from His Word
African American believers moved beyond the suffering—by entrusting themselves
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
