“A RED INDIAN LOVE STORY ON FORGIVENESS”

This is based on a true story.
One evening, the Red Indian chief, Maskipeton, was deeply moved by a missionary’s address on the Lord Jesus Christ’s dying prayer on the cross … “Father forgive them.”

He went on and said “Dear Heavenly Father forgive Maskipeton, the most powerful chief of his tribe of the North American Indians. Maskipeton has delighted in cunning ambushes and midnight attacks on others, and all that goes with savage warfare.”

The next day, a band of Red Indians was approaching, in which was the man who had murdered Miscaption’s only son.

Miscaption’s son was sent into a secluded valley, but had never returned. The son’s companion said that he had fallen over a cliff, though in fact, he had murdered him. Unknown to the murderer, the killing had been witnessed by some Red Indians, who later reported it to Maskepetoon, his bereaved father, the chief.

When the two bands were within a few hundred yards of each other, the eagle eye of the old chief, Maskipeton, detected the murderer of his son, and drawing back his tomahawk from his belt, he rode up, until he was face to face with the murderer of his son.

With a quavering voice, and suppressing his feelings, Maskipeton, with an admirable control over himself said “You deserve to die. I sent my son with you, his trusted companion. You betrayed my trust and killed my only son! You have done me and my tribe the greatest injury possible. You deserve to die … but for what I heard from the missionary a the camp fire last night, I would have already buried this tomahawk in your brains! The missionary told us, that if we expected the Great Spirit, who lives in the sky, to forgive us, we must forgive the greatest wrong.”

Maskipeton went on and said “You have been my worst enemy, and deserve to die!” With deep emotion he continued “As I hope the Great Spirit to forgive me … I forgive you.” Then hastily pulling his war bonnet over his face, Maskipeton bowed down over his horses’ neck, and gave way to an agony of tears.

For years Maskipeton lived a devoted Christian life. He preached to others. He influenced  many of his own tribe to turn back from killing their enemies, the Blackfeet. He gave them no other weapon but the “Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.”

But a bloodthirsty chief of that vindictive tribe, the Blackfeet, remembered some of their wars of previous days. He was very jealous in losing some of his influence over his relatives to Maskipeton. He seized a gun, and in defiance, he coolly shot down Maskipeton, the converted chief, with no emotion at all.

Who can say that forgiveness is not a costly thing? Maskipeton suffered a broken heart to forgive the murderer of his own son. Then it cost him his life to forgive his enemies, such that, he went to them unarmed, so that he could preach the forgiveness of sin.

Dear Muslim Friend, this is what God the Father in heaven did for us in Jesus Christ. For “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

 Harley Hitchcock

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