Jack tenaciously clung to his liquor despite the pleas of his family...
His wife’s tears could not deter him. Neither could nights spent in jail for public drunkenness, disorderly conduct or criminal trespass stop Jack from getting high, nor cause him to seek treatment.
As expected from such irresponsible behavior, Jack’s life spiraled downward. He lost a good job. His marriage fell apart and his ex-wife was able to obtain an Order of Protection from the court to keep Jack away from his children. He was, by his own admission, a bad example of what a father should be; he couldn’t support them, either.
As Jack tells it, many a night was spent sleeping outside in the cold, or in an abandoned car when he could find one, or inside a vacant building. It was the latter, however, where “Little Freddy” died.
Freddy, like Jack, was an alcoholic. But unlike Jack, he was homeless. Jack had a home, but seldom went there. When one night, a drunken Jack wandered into a vacant building seeking shelter from the cold and rain. Wanting to keep warm, he lit a small fire, then passed out. But unbeknownst to Jack, the fire and the acrid smoke it produced began to travel upwards. By the time it was discovered the floor directly above him was ablaze.
Somehow Jack managed to awaken from his stupor and stagger out the front door just as firefighters arrived on the scene. Fortunately, Jack was shaken, but unharmed. Little Freddy, however, was not as fortunate.
Without Jack being aware of it, Freddy, who was also intoxicated, had entered the building before Jack. He fell asleep in the room directly above where Jack chose to sleep off another night of drinking.
Arrested and charged with Manslaughter, Jack received a sentence of twenty years in the slammer. His many prior arrests for various misdemeanors did not allow for a lighter sentence, So off he went to prison, where, a little more than a decade after the fire, I ran into him.
As we became friends I told Jack of God’s love for him. How that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. That the Lord Jesus paid for our sins with His own blood, then rose from the grave on the third day. In addition to giving Jack the gospel, I gave him a listening ear.
Jack was eager to talk about his life, especially since no one seemed to care about him until now. Prison can be a place where selfishness abounds because some inmates think only of themselves and those in their immediate circle.
In this environment, many men and women hold within themselves tremendous amounts of shame, guilt, and regret which eats away at their souls. They’ve no knowledge as to how to release these harmful emotions to God, or how to connect with Him.
During our conversations, I would explain to Jack what repentance is, and how, when we receive Jesus as our Savior, we are immediately given the Holy Spirit who will dwell in our hearts, forever. I told Jack that if he’d place his faith in Christ, God would give him the strength and ability to overcome his addiction to alcohol.
So I was ecstatic when, two weeks ago, Jack showed up for church. He was warmly greeted by the men and sat quietly in the back row listening and observing. He also signed up for our Tuesday and Thursday evening Bible studies.
What will be the outcome of this, I don’t know, but what I do know is that with God nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).
D. B.
NOTE: Jack and Freddy are not their real names.
As expected from such irresponsible behavior, Jack’s life spiraled downward. He lost a good job. His marriage fell apart and his ex-wife was able to obtain an Order of Protection from the court to keep Jack away from his children. He was, by his own admission, a bad example of what a father should be; he couldn’t support them, either.
As Jack tells it, many a night was spent sleeping outside in the cold, or in an abandoned car when he could find one, or inside a vacant building. It was the latter, however, where “Little Freddy” died.
Freddy, like Jack, was an alcoholic. But unlike Jack, he was homeless. Jack had a home, but seldom went there. When one night, a drunken Jack wandered into a vacant building seeking shelter from the cold and rain. Wanting to keep warm, he lit a small fire, then passed out. But unbeknownst to Jack, the fire and the acrid smoke it produced began to travel upwards. By the time it was discovered the floor directly above him was ablaze.
Somehow Jack managed to awaken from his stupor and stagger out the front door just as firefighters arrived on the scene. Fortunately, Jack was shaken, but unharmed. Little Freddy, however, was not as fortunate.
Without Jack being aware of it, Freddy, who was also intoxicated, had entered the building before Jack. He fell asleep in the room directly above where Jack chose to sleep off another night of drinking.
Arrested and charged with Manslaughter, Jack received a sentence of twenty years in the slammer. His many prior arrests for various misdemeanors did not allow for a lighter sentence, So off he went to prison, where, a little more than a decade after the fire, I ran into him.
As we became friends I told Jack of God’s love for him. How that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. That the Lord Jesus paid for our sins with His own blood, then rose from the grave on the third day. In addition to giving Jack the gospel, I gave him a listening ear.
Jack was eager to talk about his life, especially since no one seemed to care about him until now. Prison can be a place where selfishness abounds because some inmates think only of themselves and those in their immediate circle.
In this environment, many men and women hold within themselves tremendous amounts of shame, guilt, and regret which eats away at their souls. They’ve no knowledge as to how to release these harmful emotions to God, or how to connect with Him.
During our conversations, I would explain to Jack what repentance is, and how, when we receive Jesus as our Savior, we are immediately given the Holy Spirit who will dwell in our hearts, forever. I told Jack that if he’d place his faith in Christ, God would give him the strength and ability to overcome his addiction to alcohol.
So I was ecstatic when, two weeks ago, Jack showed up for church. He was warmly greeted by the men and sat quietly in the back row listening and observing. He also signed up for our Tuesday and Thursday evening Bible studies.
What will be the outcome of this, I don’t know, but what I do know is that with God nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).
D. B.
NOTE: Jack and Freddy are not their real names.
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