Posted on 06/13/2006 8:27:23 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
If I were to ask you to imagine what a typical U.S. marshal looks like, you might think of John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Or maybe Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive. Tough guys, gun in hand, pursuing justice with steely-eyed coolness.
This March, the U.S. Marshals Service appointed a new director—John Clark, a twenty-three-year veteran of the department. Like the other men and women of U.S. Marshals Service, Clark is an expert at protecting the public and chasing down the “bad guys.” But a recent Chicago Tribune article reveals that there’s something different about Clark—something you won’t see in the movies.
You see, even though Clark spends most of his time bringing criminals to justice, he spends his Christmas holidays delivering presents to the children of these same “bad guys” through Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree® program.
Clark told the Chicago Tribune: “We see the individual going to jail and some heinous crime has been committed and we think that guy or gal deserves it. What we forget is at home there is a mom or son or daughter or youngsters that are the innocent victims of this person’s criminal mindset.”
So what could motivate a man like Clark—or anyone—to bring offenders to justice but, at the same time, to reach out in mercy? It’s a biblical worldview: a worldview that takes seriously God’s command through the prophet Micah to do justice and to love mercy—at the same time! And a worldview that sees each human being—criminals, their families, victims of crime—as created in the image of God.
Sadly, the American criminal justice system and our society as a whole see offenders solely as criminals who should be locked up and forgotten.
Don’t get me wrong. As the former attorney general of Virginia, I know there are plenty of violent criminals whom we must incarcerate to protect the public. But I shake my head in sad wonder today that of our two million souls in prisons in America, nearly half are there for nonviolent offenses. Even more sobering is the fact that each year, some 600,000 men and women leave prison ill prepared to reenter society as productive citizens. In fact, nearly two-thirds of them will be rearrested within three years. That’s not promoting public safety.
So, what’s the Church to do? Simply this: Live out God’s command to do justice and love mercy. How? Work to reform the criminal justice system in a way that holds offenders accountable by forcing them to pay restitution to their victims and by performing needed community service. We need to work to end the “one-size-fits-all” sentencing practices. We need to work to give crime victims a voice in the process.
At the same time, we need to bring the transforming power of the Gospel to prisoners. We need to meet prisoners at the gate when they leave prison, ready to draw them into our churches, to mentor them as they make the transition from confinement to freedom. And, like the head of the U.S. Marshall Service, we need to minister to the families of prisoners to ensure that they remain intact and that their children are not swept up into the generational cycle of crime.
Visit our websites at prisonfellowship.org and justicefellowsip.org. We can show you how you and your church, like the head of the U.S. Marshal Service, can do justice and love mercy.
There are links to further information at the source document.
If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!
If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
Micah 6:8
Ping to read/respond later
A worthy article. Scripture tells us to remember the imprisoned. It does not tell us to abandon those who were guilty either.
My wife's favorite scripture, see her thoughts at my profile.
Blessings, Ted
It's long been my favorite one verse...if anything could sum up the proper walk with God, that's it. That's why it's been my permanent tag line since I figured out how to condense it enough for the tagline space.
I read something not long ago written by Theodore Rooseveldt for the soldiers going to WWI. He too thought the same way...
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.