visit those in prison

Set Yourself Free

Posted on by Betsy

A woman who had come for counseling struggled to get her truth out. This often happens in counseling. People fear condemnation and judgment, but more so, they are terrified to hear themselves speak the truth out loud. Truth is like squirting an entire tube of toothpaste onto a plate. Once it is all out, it is impossible to get back into the tube. Finally, as she stumbled and hesitated, I reminded her that I once did five years of jail ministry and thus I am impervious to shocking confessions. Truly, the things that I heard in that setting will rank as some of the most disconcerting moments of my entire ministry. Clergy visitation in prison is a constitutional right, and clergy who take on this task are simply heeding the words of Scripture that tell us to attend to those in prison. But it is far from easy and it can leave a mark.

I kind of fell into it backwards: A church member’s teenage son had shot a friend and killed him in their home. She called me in a panic and asked me to see him in the jail. I visited once a week for the next five years, and the Christian guards started asking me to see other inmates who had requested a clergy visit. A stream of offenders flowed in and out of the clergy room every week, and I listened, counseled, read Scripture, cried, and prayed for these lost souls. One inmate confessed a crime so heinous, it left a deep wound in my soul that I can never forget. But obedience to God’s directive to be his representative in a black clergy shirt week after week left me no choice. I met with him the following week and continued our visits until he was transferred to a state facility.

Today’s Scripture from Hebrews is one of the many places we are told to remember the prisoners. I love how the Scripture begins with the injunction to keep loving each other like family. Can you love an inmate like a brother? Can you love a stranger like family? How about someone who has brought you pain?

Hebrews 13 (Common English Bible)

13 Keep loving each other like family. 2 Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. 3 Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place. 4 Marriage must be honored in every respect, with no cheating on the relationship, because God will judge the sexually immoral person and the person who commits adultery.5 Your way of life should be free from the love of money, and you should be content with what you have. After all, he has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. 6 This is why we can confidently say,

The Lord is my helper,
    and I won’t be afraid.
What can people do to me?

7 Remember your leaders who spoke God’s word to you. Imitate their faith as you consider the way their lives turned out. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Ironically, the inmates I visited and the woman in my counseling office had something in common: They were all prisoners. She was imprisoned by her sin and the suffocating box she had trapped herself into. She was as chained as anyone I saw in the jail, and yet the key to her liberation was just as easy to find as it was for the inmates. True confession, deep honesty with yourself and with God, a determination to turn away from the behavior, and a willingness to make reparation to the person you have hurt will lead you to your freedom.

In all of this, the Lord is our helper. There is no need to be afraid. Jesus’ promise to never leave or abandon us means that there is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from his forgiveness and grace.

Are you in a jail of your own making? You know the way out. Set yourself free.

Freedom

Imprisonment

Posted on by Betsy

Let me tell you about my friend Lisa. Lisa is the co-author of a book on grief that we wrote together several years ago. (Mourning Break) She is actively engaged in prison ministry. Her dedication to the women in the Georgia state prison system is incredibly admirable. She visits them, writes emails to them, prays with them, prays FOR them, and has helped one write a book on devotionals from prison. With all the ways that she is a true Barnabas who supports and encourages others, she is first and foremost obedient to what Christ has called ALL of us to do.

In this passage in Matthew, Jesus explains how we all will be evaluated at the end of our days. The king in the story has separated the people into two groups: those who are righteous, who are positioned on the right, and those who ignored his call, whom he placed on his left.

Matthew 25 (Common English Bible)

34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. 35 I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36 I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’

This clearly is the standard by which the world will be judged. Those who fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, and gave the cool cup of water to the thirsty will inherit the kingdom. Taking care of the sick and visiting people in prison also enable believers to receive all the good things the father has to bestow upon his people.

37 “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’

I think about my friend and her prison ministry when I read this passage. Jesus explains that when we do loving and caring things for others, we are doing them for Christ himself. Can there be a higher goal in life than to do acts of beauty and kindness for Jesus?

You may not have a way to visit someone in prison like Lisa does, but you probably know someone who is imprisoned by their situation, their defeat, their hopelessness, their poverty, or their choices. Can you make a difference? Can you reach out in non-judgmental love and offer a plate of love, a cup of justice, a coat of warm acceptance, or a handshake of welcome? (OK, maybe a wave from six feet away…)

Take this scripture to heart. In a world that is imprisoned in despair, be a Lisa. And when you do, you’ll be serving Christ himself.

You Welcomed Me by Mark Poblete