‘James Smith's
faith in God wasn't the "puny, soft-fleshed" type of those whose
belief is the equivalent of a Sunday morning stroll…’*
 |
| Bound, and yet James Smith was free |
Smith, his wife
Fanny and their two children were slaves in nineteenth century Virginia. After long
days of wearying toil, Smith would gather his fellow slaves and would preach to
and worship with them. These unsanctioned nocturnal activities met with some
opposition from Smith’s master, who had him whipped. Undeterred, Smith kept on
worshipping and preaching Christ to the apparent chagrin of his master, who sold
him to a slave-trader, separating him from Fanny and the children. A Georgia cotton
grower purchased Smith. The trials of this man, bound only for belonging to some
supposed other ‘race’, the scars of his flayed skin a constant reminder of the
hateful injustice bred by a distinctly unchristian worldview, did not lead to wallowing
in pity, but rather to working at prayer. For this prayerfulness, Smith was
again punished by his new master in Georgia, receiving 100 lashes from
his overseer. Smith’s response was to pray for the soul of the very one who had
administered the beating. God was not the only one who heard Smith’s prayer
that day. The overseer himself was listening, begged forgiveness, and promised
to turn a blind eye if Smith tried to escape.
The preaching, prayerful
Smith fled to Virginia
where he no doubt looked forward to reuniting with his wife and children and
aiding in their own escape to freedom. But it was not to be. Fanny and the children
had been sold. It was only after 22 years from the time they were separated -years
of immense hardship (including more beatings and imprisonments) - that Smith
finally found his wife after much praying and
searching, in Canada.
‘James Smith's
faith in God wasn't the "puny, soft-fleshed" type of those whose
belief is the equivalent of a Sunday morning stroll…’ No kidding.
* I first came across the story of
James Smith in Mark Dever’s helpful book ‘The Gospel and Personal Evangelism’ (p.
53), which cited an article in the Washington
Post, from which the quote is drawn, the link to which is below:
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