Prison

There are a number of personal blogs I enjoy reading. I won’t go into specifics a particular one, but his viewpoints are spiritually uplifting and thought provoking.  This past week he wrote of a homeless man and their ride into Atlanta.

The man told him that he was 77, and that he had been in prison for killing another, years ago.  He was on his way to a Krishna temple, having been converted in prison.  He carried with him Krishna prayer beads, along with a rosary and spoke of his spiritual journey.

During the conversation he also mentioned how comfortable he had been in prison.  He was a baker and had been able to make $90 a month – no rent, no grocery bill, no health costs. He enjoyed his work, kept his cell clean.

The only study I could find that gave specific recidivism rates showed that 15% of inmates released over age 55+ end up back in prison.  That’s the lowest rate, except for age 45 to 55. For inmates under 17, the rate was 50%. Statistics are in his favor for not returning to prison.

I wondered if this elderly man would find his way in a world new to him, or if the comfort he missed would appeal to him. The known versus unknown.

At high points in our lives, we are ready to follow Peter’s example:

And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. (Luke 22:33 KJV)

The majority of us fall into Christ’s prophecy of Peter’s denial:

And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. (Luke 22:34 KJV)

The prison we select is the prison of sin – where we are most comfortable. It would be so much better for us if we could say, as Paul:

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, (Ephesians 3:1 KJV)

Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; (2 Timothy 1:8 KJV)

Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, (Philemon 1:1 KJV)

Strange, isn’t it, to believe that being a ‘prisoner’ can set us free? Yet that is what Christ promises:

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32 KJV)

I’ve said a prayer for both of the men – that the driver continues in his service to our Lord, that he continues to be a blessing and that the Lord blesses him, too. I prayed for the homeless man, that he might not only find a home here on earth, but that his spiritual search would lead Him into God’s will. That he, too, may be a blessing to others, and be blessed by God’s mercy and grace.
I appreciate their making me think of prison.