Today I am grateful for freedom! Physical freedom, emotional freedom, and spiritual freedom. I was sitting in the jail today looking around and thought "these people are no different than so many I see on a regular basis who just haven't been caught. They have families. They have dreams. They have pasts. They have value." And I think, "God loves these people just as much as He loves me, and He wouldn't hesitate to leave me and the other 98 behind to go looking for one of these who is lost." So, do I?
Though we (on the outside) get frustrated with those on the inside with not getting it together and messing up or reoffending again and again and again, how different really are we from them? Like where it really matters. And, I'm not saying those who do crimes ought not to be punished. They should. What I'm talking about though, is the emotional and spiritual shunning that most people I know blatantly live out towards offenders. What if God dealt with us the way we often deal with those in prison? Has one of us ever lied, been tried and judged, and truly never ever lied again? Has one of us ever looked lustfully at another, been caught and maybe even rehabilitated, and then never ever struggled with lust again? Has any of us ever thought more highly of ourselves than we ought, been humbled, and never had a prideful moment again? No? We keep continually sinning even though we know better? Well, then I guess no one should visit us. No one should reach out to us, especially when we've really blown it. No one should ever even think of believing in us, because we've already proven that we can't be trusted and we're screw ups. And people should definitely judge our family and think of them as ignorant for choosing us in the first place. And getting into heaven? We should all just kiss that goodbye because if we screw up as often as we do, then we must not have ever had a "real" encounter or relationship with Jesus.
Do you see how ludicrous this all is? Hopefully you picked up on the sarcasm and realized how outlandish this is, and yet this is exactly how so many, especially in the church, treat prisoners. Most Christians believe in the "saving" grace of Jesus, but not in the day in and day out "living" grace of Jesus. Once they're saved, they move right back into the mold of works and performance and perfection. Don't get me wrong. My God punishes and deals with sin. But He did it once and for all with the death of His Son, Jesus, on the cross so that we wouldn't have to suffer His wrath. Anyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. And anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will be given freedom. EVEN IF WE KEEP SCREWING UP!!! Sin is sin. It all separates us from God. One isn't more worse than another, spiritually speaking. Otherwise, NONE OF US would ever make it to heaven and spend eternity with Him.
So, all that to say, I'm so very grateful for the freedom I experience in all parts of my life, and I fully acknowledge that freedom comes only from the redeeming work of Christ. And the good news is, He's not done. He has more to save. Some of them are in prison. Some of them are on the streets. Some of them are in the church. And He will leave the 99 sheep every single time to go find the one that is lost. So again I ask, will I? The only thing I can do here on earth that I can't do in heaven is tell hurting people about Jesus.
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