Is it possible that a person who has made a mistake can be redeemed? Can such a life be salvaged? Can men who have faltered along the way, ever be restored to a strong relationship with God? Can the purity of our spirit be restored?

  Every person makes a mistake or two in life and deserves an opportunity for restoration, but society is unforgiving, merciless and with a few exceptions, punitive.

  If ever there was a race that has felt the sting of society's rejection it is the Black American male.  More than any race the Black male has felt the sting of social, political and economic disenfranchisement. We who have built the railroads, picked the cotton, and provided the creative genius that has helped this nation to become great, know that pain of falling into the worst conditions.

  Some of our tragedy has fallen upon us because of the harshness of our masters and superiors and the military might of our adversaries. However, some of our plight has been at our own hands. We have contributed to our own demise is many ways. The jails across the nation are rapidly filling with people of our race, but are responsible for at least some of the crimes for which we are accused? Teenage pregnancy is soaring in our community and black fathers are disappearing in large numbers; are we at least partially the blame for leaving our children to survive on a child support check that we do not pay? If a generation of young men are growing into men with more concern for sagging pants than they are for tightening their belts and walking straight, who can we blame?

   For a race in which men were the strong towers in the family, it is tragic to see how low we have fallen today. It's tragic to see black men beating women like punching bags, running away their children as if they had the plague and resorting to drugs and alcohol in such large numbers that entire communities are being devastated. Even more tragic is the loss of Adam and Eve in the place of Adam and Steve.

   It is true that the Black man has fallen into impure state, but it is equally important to remember that the repentant man will rise again.

   An understanding of the scripture helps us to know that Ethiopia will rise again. There will be a resurrection of the Black man in conjunction with the rise of the faithful, from all walks of life, who have chosen to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

    When that resurrection comes God will find a truly repentant a dedicated man standing before him ready to serve and to help build the kingdom of God

    As Christians, we are happy to know that the Black man is not doomed to failure, but on the contrary is destined for success and glory. This divinely appointed destiny can truly begin when all men everywhere, repent and turn to God. Once a man repents, there is no limit to his strength, energy and upward mobility because he is being led by the power of God.