Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: LOCKED (10/27/22)
-
TITLE: The Prisoner | Previous Challenge Entry
By Dennis Gallemore
11/03/22 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Eric Green stood in the center of his new home: Jarvis Prison. At 42, he found himself incarcerated for the next five years. “What do I do now?”
Sitting down on the bunk, he hung his head. Years of getting away with breaking nearly every law had finally led to this. He had thought he was invincible. That, he realized suddenly, was a delusion that he had buried himself in, a delusion that had hidden the awful truth. He had been living on borrowed time. He was caught red-handed with stolen property and the judge and jury had thrown the book at him.
“I’m locked up.” Those words, spoken aloud, hung in the air as he slowly raised his head up and looked around the tiny room. Despair threatened to overwhelm him. Remembering his childhood, his beloved mother loving him and raising him even through struggling with the death of her husband, his father, he dropped his head and sobbed. The cries echoed throughout the nearby cells as his fellow prisoners stilled, their own misery blanketing their own thoughts.
***
“Green, you’ve got a visitor. Go on in, Reverend.”
Eric rubbed his eyes and sat up. The night had not rested easily upon him. At least, he thought, he had made it through the night and morning had found him. Looking up, he saw a middle-aged man with a kindly face before him. “Who are you?”
The man extended a hand. “Jason Edwards. I’m one of the ministers here. Would you mind if I talked with you for a bit?”
Eric rubbed a hand across his unshaved face. “I don’t know what good it would do. I’m locked in here for five years. Whatever you’ve got to say won’t help me.”
The pastor sat down in the sole chair in the cell. “It’s not what I’ve got to say that will help you; it’s what Jesus has to say. Words He said two thousand years ago can help you today and for the next five years, as well as the rest of your life."
“My mother used to go to church, after my father died in a car wreck. She dragged me along with her until I finally got old enough to refuse to go. None of that did me any good.”
“Perhaps it was because you didn’t listen.”
“You’re awfully preachy.”
The minister laughed. “Well, guilty as charged, but I’m a preacher after all is said and done.” Growing serious, he leaned forward. “Eric, He can offer you living water. He can help you survive this time. You have to pay for your crimes, but you can learn from this experience. You’re going to spend years of your life in here. You’ve got two choices: you can put in your time and leave here bitter and broken and probably end up right back where you were, or you can spend the time learning a better way.”
“And what way would that be?”
“The way of peace. The way of forgiveness. The way of mercy. The way of joy. The way of love.”
“There’s none of those things in me, Preacher.”
“Yes, Eric, there are. They’ve always been there. Your mother helped to show you the way to a better life. Sounds like she tried her best to lead you to Him.”
Eric shook his head. “To God? To the one who took my father when I was just a kid? He didn’t help my father. He didn’t make my mother’s life any better and he sure didn’t help me.”
“Son, He did help your mother. He helped her to raise you when she didn’t have a husband to walk beside her. You’ve got to put the past behind you. You’ve locked your heart up and thrown away the key.”
Eric looked away, his eyes filling with tears. “It’s too late for me, Preacher.”
Reaching into his jacket pocket, the pastor pulled out a small book and handed it to Eric. “It’s never too late, my son, and this book, the Bible, is the key. It won’t unlock that cell door, but it can unlock your heart.”
Eric drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “My lock is pretty well rusted, Preacher. I’m not sure that it will open.”
The minister smiled. “My son, that key can unlock anything.”
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
