prison

I am not one who particularly knows much about prison (never having done any time myself!) or even had a particular heart for prison work (another being international students but thats for another time), and if I was being entirely honest I still struggle with developing a passion for it, but what I do know is that God wants us to have a compassion for the people who are on the inside (and friendships with the int. students!)

Firstly, in the bible it was seen as a good thing to have been thown in prison for your faith. But the men and women in prison need to know about the love of the saviour, and the grace of the creator, and it is our responsibility to bring it to them, and what a witness it could be!

There was a recent debate about the prisoner/victim recovery schemes, and that there was an issue in that there seemed to be more emphasis on rehabilitating convicts rather than helping victims. I think there should be a balance, and that it is important that both have the opportunity to receive grace equally, as none of us deserve our second chances. Wasn't it Jesus who told a criminal on the cross that today we would be in paradise with him.

It also got me to thinking that we treat our prisoners really well. Shelter, daily food, clothes, bed, activity, education. That's all far more effort that what we do for our homeless law abiding citizens, and there is definitely an injustice there. It would almost be profittable for a homeless person to commit a crime and be put in prison (except maybe that freedom is more important)! It made me think about my own efforts with the homeless. For example when we bring them food, we might bring them some and bread. But as one homeless person rightly corrected me, we would feed bread to the pidgeons, how much more should we be doing for a brothers and sisters on the street and in poor countries.

So it's time to pray for the prisoner, the homeless, the international student, those on the fringes of society for those are the people who Jesus says are Blessed (matt 5). And not only to pray, but to be the pray you ask for. Be the food giver, the clother, the one who introduces the life giver to the broken.