I was sitting at a table in the recreation area earlier this evening...
...talking with three other men who, like myself, became Christians sometime during their stay in prison. While each of our crimes and criminal cases is different, there was a unanimous consensus among us that, had we still been out in the streets, we would more than likely be dead by now.
Going over each of our lives (without going into specific details about our cases), we admitted that we had been out of control. We were living reckless lives, taking crazy chances, and daring death to claim us. We all agreed that we could not get out of the mental and physical bondages we were in. On the "outside" our lives were too fast-paced and pressured. We seemed to be on our own individual roller coasters, with no way to stop them. Prisons, however, provide lots of time for people to reflect. I have had this same discussion with so many other inmates over the years, some of whom had been drug addicts or alcoholics. Their lives were coming apart, and they were in self-destructive cycles with no way out. And then they were arrested.
While none of us wants to be here, and in spite of our prison sentences and present confinement, we realize that God actually used our forced confinement in prison to save our lives. Because the Lord loved us even when we were in rebellion towards Him, He had to use extreme measures to save fools from their own folly. And He definitely saved a fool like me!
D.B.
Going over each of our lives (without going into specific details about our cases), we admitted that we had been out of control. We were living reckless lives, taking crazy chances, and daring death to claim us. We all agreed that we could not get out of the mental and physical bondages we were in. On the "outside" our lives were too fast-paced and pressured. We seemed to be on our own individual roller coasters, with no way to stop them. Prisons, however, provide lots of time for people to reflect. I have had this same discussion with so many other inmates over the years, some of whom had been drug addicts or alcoholics. Their lives were coming apart, and they were in self-destructive cycles with no way out. And then they were arrested.
While none of us wants to be here, and in spite of our prison sentences and present confinement, we realize that God actually used our forced confinement in prison to save our lives. Because the Lord loved us even when we were in rebellion towards Him, He had to use extreme measures to save fools from their own folly. And He definitely saved a fool like me!
D.B.