Posted on 12/09/2003 10:41:47 AM PST by Mr. Silverback
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
Back in October of this year, a bus-load of Prison Fellowship staff and volunteers went to the Fluvanna Women's Correctional Center in Virginia to help prisoners sign up their children for Angel Tree Christmas. A few of us volunteered to go into the segregation unit to meet with women who could not leave their cells.
One of the inmate-moms I met was Alicia. As I knelt on the concrete floor and spoke to her through the food slot in her solid steel door -- the only way we could see each other -- she didn't seem like a typical inmate. She was poised and articulate with a perfect smile. But behind her smile was a deep pain. Alicia was a murderer; she had no release date and might never see her three children again.
I signed her kids up for Angel Tree and then asked her, "Alicia, where are you in your journey with God?"
"I haven't read a Bible in a long time," she said. "But I did last night. In fact, I fell asleep holding my Bible."
I went on, "If you died tonight, do you know whether you would go to heaven?"
"Oh no, I would not go to heaven," she said quickly, her smile evaporating. "I'm too bad to go to heaven." The concrete floor grew increasingly hard on my knees, but I knew I couldn't possibly stand up now.
"Alicia, can I share with you Good News of Jesus that we will be sharing with your children at Christmas?" I asked her. She was more than eager -- the Holy Spirit was clearly at work. So I shared the Gospel with her, along with my own testimony of how I had tried to be good enough to get to heaven, only to learn how desperately I needed a Savior.
"Would you like to receive Jesus as your Savior today?" I asked Alicia. She nodded. As we prayed, her voice was clear, strong, and determined. She was now sobbing. "I haven't cried about anything for a very long time," she said.
By that time, I had forgotten all about my knees and the hard concrete floor. This was a holy place, and with ears of faith, I could almost hear the angels rejoicing.
And I rejoice too, not only for Alicia's new life in Christ, but even more that there are literally thousands of volunteers ministering to prisoners and their families, especially at Christmas time, through Angel Tree.
Here at Prison Fellowship, when we began Angel Tree in 1982, we had no idea of the impact, of the millions of children who would be reached and the many lives God would change. This year alone, in partnership with thousands of churches and volunteers, we're reaching more than half a million children of prisoners, including Alicia's family.
And it's not just giving kids Christmas gifts. The evidence is clear that children with a parent in prison are more likely to end up in prison themselves someday. Angel Tree breaks that cycle of crime by sharing the love of Christ -- the Gospel of Christ -- with the children of inmates.
Christmas is almost here, and we're still looking for volunteers to purchase a gift and help share the Gospel with these children. Can you help us? Call us toll-free at 1-800-55-ANGEL to find out how you can help today. There is still time for you and your church to make a difference in the life of a child and in our culture.
If anyone wants on or off my BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
Amen! The DEFINING difference between Christianity and ALL other religions is that we KNOW that we are not good enough to get into heaven and must rely on the grace from the ultimate and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ that fulfilled ALL of the prophesies of the Old Testament.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.