Ransom of Love (20 page)

“Yes, sir. That is quite clear.”

“Good. Then, as a captive of sin and Satan, like all other sinners, you need to be made free, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Now read what Jesus said to men who were captives of sin and Satan, in verse 36.”

Benjamin dropped his eyes to the page and read, “ ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.’ ”

“Now, what does that say to you?”

Benjamin looked at it again. “That only God’s Son can set me free, and if He does, I am free without a doubt.”

Dan smiled. “Do you believe Him?”

“Yes. I am just not quite sure how He does it.”

“I’ll explain that to you, but first we need to go to the book of 1 Timothy.”

A quizzical look framed Benjamin’s face. “First Timothy? Is there more than one?”

“These were epistles—letters—written by the apostle Paul to one of his sons in the ministry named Timothy. He wrote two letters to Timothy—both under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Here. Let me get it for you.”

When Dan laid the open Bible before Benjamin, he said, “Keep in mind what Jesus said in John 8:36 and read me verses 5 and 6 of chapter 2.”

Benjamin found the spot and read: “ ‘For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.’ ”

“Do you know what the word
ransom
means, Benjamin?”

“I am not sure, Mr. Dan. I do not think I have ever heard the word.”

“Well, do you know what
redemption
means?”

“I believe so. I remember studying the word in my classes when the British people were teaching my parents and me English. Redemption is the sum paid to set a person free from punishment, slavery, or prison. Right?”

“Exactly. The word
ransom
comes from the same root word as
redemption
. So, when Jesus gave Himself a ransom for all, He was paying the price that God, in His holiness, righteousness, and justice demanded for setting a sinner free from slavery to sin and Satan and the punishment of spending eternity in the prison called hell. Are you following me?”

Benjamin nodded.

“All right. Benjamin, you were brought to this country by Thomas Green as a slave, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Thomas Green owned you.”

“Yes.”

“You were to be sold to the highest bidder and become that person’s slave, weren’t you?”

“I sure was. And if Finn Colvin had bought me, I would be his slave.”

Dan smiled. “That is true. Now think about it. You were the slave of Thomas Green and held in his bonds as his captive, weren’t you?”

Benjamin thought about his dash for freedom when he jumped from the ship but was caught by the police and delivered back to Thomas Green. “Most certainly.”

“But it was established on the auction block that whoever made the highest bid for you would own you when he paid the price.”

“Yes.”

“My father made the highest bid and paid that price at the cashier’s booth. Right?”

Benjamin held Dan’s gaze with his own and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“So my father owned you then, didn’t he?”

“He did.”

“But what did he do, even though he owned you?”

Suddenly Benjamin’s eyes lit up. “He set me free!”

“Exactly! And when a lost sinner comes to Jesus, realizing he is a captive of sin and Satan, and calls on Jesus to save him, He does!
And because that repentant sinner opens his heart to Jesus, he then belongs to Jesus. So, just like my father paid the price for you, which made you his possession, then he set you free … so it is with Jesus. That’s why He said, ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.’ Do you see it?”

Benjamin smiled. “It is coming clear.”

“While you are thinking on it, let me emphasize something. Look at the verse again. Tell me what price was paid so that lost sinners could be saved and set free, Benjamin. What was the ransom?”

He studied it for a brief moment, then looked up. “Why, it was Himself, Mr. Dan. Jesus gave Himself as the price.”

“Hang on to that, Benjamin, and let me show you some other passages that will help you.”

With Dan’s help, Benjamin followed in his own Bible as Dan read several passages on redemption, showing what Jesus did for sinners when He went to the cross, shed His precious blood, and died, making it possible for them to be set free from sin, Satan, and the damnation of hell.

When Dan finished reading to him, Benjamin was weeping. “Mr. Dan,” he said, “I see it! What your father did for me when he ransomed me from earthly slavery is a picture of what Jesus wants to do for me, to ransom me from spiritual slavery!”

“That’s it,” Dan said. “Do you want to be set free from sin, Satan, and the condemnation that is in you?”

“Yes! Oh yes.”

With Dan’s guidance, in humble repentance of sin, Benjamin opened his heart to the Saviour.

After calling on the Lord to save him, Benjamin said, “Mr. Dan, when your father ransomed me at the arena, it had to have been because there was love in his heart for this poor slave. He had enough love for me that he paid a high price to set me free. It was a ransom of love.”

“I couldn’t say it any better than that, Benjamin,” Dan said.

Benjamin wiped tears from his cheeks. “And what the Lord Jesus did for me was a ransom of love. But it was a greater ransom, and a greater love.”

“Yes, Benjamin. Both were a ransom of love. But of course, the Lord’s love is the greatest, and the ransom He paid was the highest—the sacrifice of Himself.”

“Mr. Dan, last Sunday morning, when Preacher Zebulun finished his sermon and gave the invitation, one of the slave girls went forward. She had been saved during the week and wanted to tell everybody about it. This is what I should do, shouldn’t I?”

“That’s right, Benjamin. Jesus said that when we confess Him before men, He will confess us before His Father.”

“Then I will do it tomorrow morning.”

At the Colvin plantation on Monday morning, Ol’ Mose came in the back door of the mansion to start his day’s work. He was heavy of heart but did his best not to let it show.

Finn, George, and Edward had just finished breakfast and were about to leave the kitchen. They spoke to Mose, then hurried past him, telling Martha they would see her at noon.

Mose spoke to Mandy, the cook, then said to Martha, “First thing I’ll do, Miss Martha, is finish the job in the pantry that I started yesterday.”

“All right. How long do you think it will take you to finish firming up the shelves?”

“I’d say ’bout an hour, ma’am.”

Martha nodded. “All right. The next thing I need is for you to see if you can get the spots out of the carpet in George’s room.”

“More whiskey, ma’am?”

Martha bit her lip. “Yes.”

“I’ll take care of it like I did las’ time.”

“All right. Then I need you to sweep off the front porch.”

Mose’s head hung a bit lower than usual. “Yes’m.”

“When you get that done, come and see me, and I’ll decide what needs attention next.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As the morning passed, Martha observed Mose moving about the house, doing his work. She grew more and more concerned as she read his eyes and facial expressions. Something was troubling him deeply.

At noon, Ol’ Mose went to his shack to prepare his lunch, as usual. A few minutes later, Finn and his sons came into the kitchen of the mansion, sat down with Martha, and began devouring the food prepared by Mandy.

While they were eating, Martha said, “So, did my men get all their work done this morning?”

“Sure did, Mom,” Edward said. “I don’t know what Pa’s gonna do this afternoon, but George and I are gonna ride our horses out to the back side of the plantation and have us a good race. We haven’t raced for over a week.”

“As for me,” said Finn, “I’ve got to go into town and do some business at the bank.”

When the men had left the kitchen, Martha said to the cook, “Mandy, you’d better put some extra fixin’s in the stew for supper. One thing’s for sure … when George and Edward ride their horses, they always come in for supper extra hungry.”

“I will make sho’ they have plenty, Miz Colvin.”

While George and Edward were changing into their riding clothes, Finn had one of the male slaves hitch his buggy up to one of the buggy horses, then headed for Charleston.

The Colvin brothers stopped by the sewing room to tell their mother they would see her at suppertime, then went to the barn where their saddle horses were kept.

While they were happily saddling and bridling the horses, Edward snickered and said, “I hate to tell you this, big brother, but I’m gonna beat you in every race today. You haven’t got a chance.”

“Hah!” George retorted. “You’re the one who hasn’t got a chance! By the time this day is over, you’ll have to go home like a whipped dog with your tail tucked in!”

The Colvin brothers continued to banter as they mounted up
and trotted their horses past the buildings and across the fields toward the back side of the estate.

Shortly thereafter, Ol’ Mose returned to the mansion and took up the tasks assigned to him by Martha.

It was just after two o’clock when Mose carried a bucket of hot soapy water, a brush, and rags onto the back porch and began washing windows. A few minutes later, Martha came out the back door and said, “Mose, I need your help inside the house for a few minutes.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He laid down the brush and shuffled toward her. “What can I do for you?”

“I need you to move some light things from one place to another in the parlor. Lamps, vases, and that kind of thing. I’ll show you.”

Mose shuffled beside her as they entered the mansion and headed toward the front.

Martha gave him a sidelong glance. He still looked as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his ancient, stooped shoulders.

By the time they entered the parlor, Martha could no longer hold back. “Mose, before I show you what I want done in here, I need to ask you something.”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“All day long I’ve noticed that you seem troubled about something. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“It is nothin’ you can do anythin’ about, ma’am. Thank you, though.”

Martha shook her head. “I can’t let you look so burdened without learning what it is, Mose. Now I insist that you tell me.”

He cleared his throat nervously, then said, “Mrs. Colvin, what has me upset is a bad dream I had last night.”

Martha’s brow furrowed. “A bad dream?”

“Yes, ma’am. I have not been able to shake off its effects since I woke up in the middle of the night and wasn’t able to go back to sleep.”

“My, oh, my. It must have been some dream.”

“It was, ma’am. It was.”

“Well, tell me about it.”

“Yes, ma’am. Before I do, I want to make sure you understand that as a born-again Christian, I do not put stock in dreams as some kind of message from God. I believe He speaks to His children through His written Word and by the Holy Spirit in their hearts. Often He guides them by circumstances He brings into their lives. Do you understand this, ma’am?”

“I assure you I do,” Martha said. “But I want to know about this dream that has so upset you.”

Ol’ Mose ran a hand over his mouth. “I dreamed las’ night that Master George was ridin’ his horse at a gallop. The horse stumbled, throwin’ him to the ground. His head hit somethin’ hard, Miss Martha, and it killed him.”

Martha’s eyes widened, and her hand went to her mouth.

“Please do not let it bother you, ma’am,” Mose said in a comforting tone. “It was only a dream. The reason it upset me so much was because it was so vivid. Like dreams sometimes do, it stayed with me after I got up for the day. I jis’ couldn’t shake it from my mind, even when I came to work this mornin’. I still can’t get it out of my thoughts.”

By this time, Martha was trembling, and tears were misting her eyes.

“Miss Martha, please don’t let it upset you. It was jis’ a dream. I’m sure I will get over it by tomorrow.”

“No, Mose. You don’t understand.”

“Understand what, ma’am?”

“At this very moment, George and Edward are racing each other on horseback at the back side of the plantation.” She pulled a hankie from the sleeve of her dress and pressed it to her nose. “I’m frightened, Mose.”

Finn came through the doorway of the parlor and heard Martha’s words.

Mose was saying, “Please do not let it upset you, Mrs. Colvin. It was only a dream.”

Both of them turned toward Finn as he came closer and saw Martha in tears. He looked at Mose and said, “What dream? What’s this all about?”

When Mose told Finn, he laughed and laid a hand on Martha’s shoulder. “Hey, Martha, calm down! So Mose dreamed that George got killed riding a horse. There’s nothing to it. Dreams don’t mean anything.”

“But those boys are out there riding right now! That’s what worries me! They’re racing each other.”

Finn chuckled. “So? They race each other all the time. Now stop crying. Nothing is going to happen to George.”

Finn turned to the old man. “Don’t you have some work to do?”

Finn Colvin was sitting on the back porch, reading a newspaper he had picked up in town. Suddenly, the sight of two horses coming at a walk past the slave shacks caught his eye. He squinted, and it took only a few seconds to see that Edward was leading George’s limping horse, with George draped over the saddle.

He dropped the paper and bounded off the porch. Slaves looked on wide-eyed as Finn ran up to Edward and saw that he was weeping. He shot a glance at George’s lifeless form.

“Wha—what happened?”

His face void of color, Edward slid listlessly from the saddle and said, “We were racing, Pa. George’s horse stumbled on a broken tree limb. George was thrown from the saddle as the horse went down. His head struck a rock. He’s dead.”

Finn examined George’s bloody head and ejected a wordless wail, then sobbed, “It’s true! It’s true! Exactly as Mose dreamed it!”

Edward put an arm around his father’s shoulders. “Pa, what’re you talkin’ about?”

Finn looked at his youngest son. “Ol’ Mose had a dream last night. He dreamed that George was riding his horse. The horse stumbled, and George was thrown from the saddle. He hit his head
and it killed him! He told this to your mother and me no more than two hours ago!”