This pattern of reconciliation with God and then with our Christian brothers and sisters was echoed in my life when I came to faith. When I was twenty-seven years old, I was a young husband and father living in Monrovia, California. We had moved to Southern California to escape the racism and segregation that was smothering us in Mississippi. At that time, most of the people in my family were not attending church regularly. My son Spencer, however, had started attending a neighborhood Good News Club, where kids learned about the Bible while playing games and having fun. It was connected to a local church. One day, Spencer came home and began to share with me what he had been learning about Jesus. He learned that Jesus was God’s Son, who had come to earth to die in our place so we could be forgiven of sins. Before that, I had never heard the good news of God’s love in such a clear way. So, when he asked me to go to Sunday school with him at that local church, I agreed.

And in that Sunday school, I finally met Jesus. I discovered that joy is the fulfillment of longing. I was longing for love. I was seeing it in Spencer, but I had never really had it myself. And I heard a verse that sealed the deal: Galatians 2:20. Paul, who had once been a murderer, had been touched by the love of God. He had once hated Christians, but now he was one of them. He explained that the love of God was the reason he was behaving the way he was. He said, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

When I heard that verse, I said to myself that if there’s a God in heaven who loved me enough to send His only Son into the world to die for me, I want to know that God. I want to know Him. And I came to know Him. I believe the purpose of man is to know that God, the God of the universe who made everything and holds everything together. That big God. That all-encompassing God. The God who makes Himself known to humanity. I came to know that God. And I believe the purpose of us knowing that God is to love Him back and make Him known to others. 

Almost immediately God began to do something radical in my heart. He began to challenge my prejudices and my hatred toward others. I had learned to hate the white people in Mississippi. I hated their control over our lives. I hated them for what they had done to my brother, Clyde. I hated them for refusing to see me as a person deserving of respect just because I was a human being. I had so much hate! And if I had not met Jesus I would have died carrying that heavy burden of hate to my grave. But He began to strip it away, layer by layer.  He reminded me again and again that I could not hoard His love. And I could not be selective about who I would share it with. The love He had shed abroad in my heart was meant to be shared with others regardless of their color.

My good friend Judah Smith says, “You cannot exaggerate God’s love. Just try it!” I agree with him. God intends for us to be extravagant and free in our love for one another.

I never imagined when I left Mississippi at the age of sixteen that God would bring me back with a changed heart toward white people. I left Mississippi with hate in my heart. God brought me back with a heart that was overflowing with His love. I had been reconciled to Christ, and He prepared me to return to Mississippi to be reconciled to my white brothers and sisters. Even today when I think back on this, I am overwhelmed at the transforming power of God. God is the ultimate reconciler...for all the people.

We hope you have enjoyed this plan in the John M. Perkins Devotional Series. In 1970, Dr. Perkins was tortured at the hands of the Mississippi police for his leadership in the voting rights movement. His radical forgiveness and tireless pursuit of biblical justice set him on a course where he would counsel six American Presidents, receive 16 honorary doctorates and bring healing to broken communities around the world. His life is a masterclass on purpose, friendship, and joyful endurance. At 91, he wants to pass the baton to the next generation and has created a six-part masterclass to help you discover your God-given purpose in life. To sign up for the free masterclass, visit johnmperkins.com.