The Power of Forgiveness
Forgiveness showed Alex the truth of God's love.
Alexander caught a felony for second-degree murder when a robbery went sideways. When he entered prison, he had no defined faith, but as a black man, he was recruited by the inmate Islamic Imam. As a Muslim, Alex expected and sought inner peace and forgiveness, but after years of dedicating his life to Allah, he felt frustrated and without peace.
After being down for 8 years, he was called to the warden's office where he met an older white man who refused to shake his hand and instead gave him a hug. “I’m the father of the young man you killed, and I'm here to tell you that I forgive you.” They talked for an hour, and Alex learned that Jesus Christ was the reason his victim’s father was there to offer forgiveness.
Over the next year, Alex read both the Qur'an and the Bible weighing both to determine which one was truth. One night while in a spiritual battle he even physically felt the weight of truth in his Bible. The truth he found in the Bible was overwhelming, and he decided to follow the Jesus of the Bible.
A decade later, Alex is now in an advanced incentive unit, a leader in the Christian community, a solid theology teacher and has impacted the lives of inmates and volunteers in several prisons. He’s currently spending a few months in Territorial prison in Cañon City waiting to be transferred to another facility. A few weeks ago, Alex gave a sermon on "The Power of Forgiveness” and told his story. The worship service was so moving that several of the inmates hugged one another and reconciled.
The inmates in Territorial are stepping up, participating, and even leading worship as they bond into an amazing congregation that is dedicated to showing the prison that they’ll know we are Christians by our love and love covers a multitude of sins.
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