Beloved, if God so loved us, we
ought also to love one another.
1 John 4:11
Recently I received a letter from a friend who told me that he's troubled...
ought also to love one another.
1 John 4:11
Recently I received a letter from a friend who told me that he's troubled...
Because those who attend the church he belongs to don't seem to display genuine love and concern. He lamented that many in his congregation seem remote and unfriendly.
So, when I answered his letter, I told my friend that it's too bad he cannot attend the fellowship I belong to, which consists of a chaplain and several dozen prisoners. For if he could attend, I told him, he'd be pleasantly surprised to find a lot of love here.
We're always embracing one another with hugs and handshakes. We likewise try to look out for and help each other, within the limitations of the correctional setting, of course.
Nevertheless, if I could boast about the men in my congregation, these guys are doing what every church member is supposed to do; they're showing Christian love.
And as for why the prison's chapel is a place where love and compassion abound, it is simply because, as Jesus said, "He who has been forgiven of much, loves much. While he, to whom little is forgiven, loves little" (Luke 7:36-50).
Most probably, therefore, we who are incarcerated for crimes, after having experienced God's forgiveness, are perhaps better able not only to love the Lord, but to love our neighbors too.
D.B.
So, when I answered his letter, I told my friend that it's too bad he cannot attend the fellowship I belong to, which consists of a chaplain and several dozen prisoners. For if he could attend, I told him, he'd be pleasantly surprised to find a lot of love here.
We're always embracing one another with hugs and handshakes. We likewise try to look out for and help each other, within the limitations of the correctional setting, of course.
Nevertheless, if I could boast about the men in my congregation, these guys are doing what every church member is supposed to do; they're showing Christian love.
And as for why the prison's chapel is a place where love and compassion abound, it is simply because, as Jesus said, "He who has been forgiven of much, loves much. While he, to whom little is forgiven, loves little" (Luke 7:36-50).
Most probably, therefore, we who are incarcerated for crimes, after having experienced God's forgiveness, are perhaps better able not only to love the Lord, but to love our neighbors too.
D.B.
