"Let the sighing of the prisoner come before Thee..."
Psalm 79:11
As we sat around in the prison's chapel enjoying a time of coffee and fellowship after our service...
Psalm 79:11
As we sat around in the prison's chapel enjoying a time of coffee and fellowship after our service...
...and as I gazed upon the faces of these twenty or so men, my heart began to burst forth with a greater measure of love for them than ever before.
These are my brothers, my family. Like myself, they are the ones Jesus came to Earth to die for and redeem with His own sinless blood. Men who, even before the world was created, God knew them. Their births were ordained. He knew how badly we would mess up our lives, and how badly we would fail. Yet in spite of this, Jesus came to call us to Himself.
Although we immersed ourselves with lighthearted conversation and lots of smiles, God allowed me to see so much more. Because behind the smiles I saw pain. And lots of it. I know it's true, because I carry the same pain.
It's the pain of knowing one has failed society and his own family, and even himself. It's the realization that we are viewed as convicted felons who have not lived up to the expectations others had for us. We disappointed our loved ones, and we know we could've done better in life than we did.
Yet, despite our failures and bad choices came redemption. In the midst of our sins, a Light of hope has dawned. The Gospel has come, and it was received with joy. God's words of forgiveness have entered into our hearts and bore fruit (Acts 26:18).
Today, my brothers and I enjoy a special kind of fellowship that only those who have tasted of the mercy and goodness of the Lord can know. And while I still bear a deep sense of failure because of my past sins, I know that in Christ's eyes those sins are gone. He sees me as His beloved child. He sees my spiritual brothers in the same way, as precious souls who belong to Him.
D.B.
These are my brothers, my family. Like myself, they are the ones Jesus came to Earth to die for and redeem with His own sinless blood. Men who, even before the world was created, God knew them. Their births were ordained. He knew how badly we would mess up our lives, and how badly we would fail. Yet in spite of this, Jesus came to call us to Himself.
Although we immersed ourselves with lighthearted conversation and lots of smiles, God allowed me to see so much more. Because behind the smiles I saw pain. And lots of it. I know it's true, because I carry the same pain.
It's the pain of knowing one has failed society and his own family, and even himself. It's the realization that we are viewed as convicted felons who have not lived up to the expectations others had for us. We disappointed our loved ones, and we know we could've done better in life than we did.
Yet, despite our failures and bad choices came redemption. In the midst of our sins, a Light of hope has dawned. The Gospel has come, and it was received with joy. God's words of forgiveness have entered into our hearts and bore fruit (Acts 26:18).
Today, my brothers and I enjoy a special kind of fellowship that only those who have tasted of the mercy and goodness of the Lord can know. And while I still bear a deep sense of failure because of my past sins, I know that in Christ's eyes those sins are gone. He sees me as His beloved child. He sees my spiritual brothers in the same way, as precious souls who belong to Him.
D.B.
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