Christian Living

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Christ has something to say about prisoners.

"Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from [the] world's foundation: for I hungered, and ye gave me to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was ill, and ye visited me; I WAS IN PRISON, AND YE CAME TO ME." (Matthew 25:34 ~ 25:36)

Christ continued, "Verily, I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me." (Matthew 25:40)

Tomorrow I'd visit a prisoner put in a city jail. Would I be compassionate enough? I certainly would commit myself to follow Christ's example. I love Him to be able to show love to a prisoner.

Indeed, prisoners appear to be "the least of brethren." They're least understood. They are often the forgotten ones of society.

There can be a combination of factors why people go to jail. Or, why criminal behavior is committted. Poverty. Lack of education. Lack of conscience or values. Negative role models. Family abuse. Desire for Attention. Unemployment. Drugs. Low IQ. The list of possibilities can be endless I suppose.

We must never forget to take care of the victims of crime. But we often overlook the fact that prisoners or criminals are also victims. They also need help.

When I think of the prisoner I'd be visiting tomorrow, I see one who has become a stranger to his wife and even his children. Treachery. Family Disease. Such a case of tragic workings of the heart.

But, as long as one lives, there's always hope. It's never the end of the world. He can start over breaking from his past. He needs to stop being a victim (or victimizer?) and start taking responsibility.

The best he can do is to turn to God and His Word. With this, it will truly turn his life around. He can now make right choices and decisions. If he fails to do so, he'll be guilty of the greatest crime of all -- not developing his potential. What a waste of life. And the world will be robbed of another precious contribution.

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