GOD HAS A HEART FOR PRISONERS AND WANTS US TO HELP CARE FOR THEM
Matthew 25:36, 40
I was in prison and you came to visit me … I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me. (Matthew 25:36, 40)
If Jesus were on earth today, would we find Him in the prisons, talking and dining with criminals and outcasts? Of course we would. He would be there “to seek and to save the lost” and to restore them, just as He did with Zacchaeus a hated tax collectors who was a corrupt man who had grown rich by cheating others.
We read about Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) were he climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see what this Jesus was all about. It was then that the Lord invited Himself to dinner with Zacchaeus, to the irritation of the more “righteous” people in the crowd. But that loving invitation brought this corrupt tax collector to repentance and transformation, ready to make amends for his crimes.
On another occasion Jesus was rebuked for eating with publicans and sinners, and He replied that “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).
As believers we are His representatives on earth, and to help people in prison is what we should do as well. By bringing awareness to them of the healing touch of our Lord and Savior we recognize in them the dignity of God’s creation, no matter how far they have fallen; trusting that no one is beyond Christ’s love and power to redeem.
God does not despise the broken; so neither should we. Rather, we are to imitate the One who came to seek and to save the lost, as we once were, no matter what type of bonds enslave and cripple them.
Jesus identifies strongly with the weak, the helpless, and the excluded, He considers the way we treat them with the way we treat Him (Matthew 25:35-36). He wants us to identify with them, putting ourselves in their situation and reflecting Jesus’ love by showing them God’s way.
God does not always seek to free the prisoners from their physical prison, but certainly from their imprisonment from sin, ignorance, rebellion, and foolish choices; and Jesus identified Himself as the source of this freedom. Since this is an important part of God’s work, it is an important part of the believer’s work as well.
Society may intend prison to be a place of punishment, but God can use it as a place of refinement and transformation. He does not give up on those in prison, but pursues them in love.
Scripture tell us that:
- “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, and the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” (Psalm 146:7-9)
- “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6-7)
- “The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him [Jesus]. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.'” (Luke 4:17-19; Isaiah 61:1:3)
Most men and women in prison are there for a reason, they did the crime and are doing the time. Hitting rock bottom is what prods many offenders to take an honest look at their lives and cry out to God for mercy. And God is ready to give it.
- “Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So He subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.” (Psalm 107:10-16)
Transformed lives point everyone’s attention to God! This is the greatest motivation to get involved in prison ministry. No one else but God can take credit for the miraculous turnaround in criminals’ lives.
Remember that a person’s past does not have to dictate their future. Even a former criminal, if he has learned from his mistakes and renounced his sins, can become a great leader in God’s hands. Consider Moses, who was a murderer and a fugitive from justice when God called him to lead His people out of slavery. In the heat of passion, he had killed an Egyptian, hidden him in the desert sand, and then fled the country because pharaoh was after him to execute him (Exodus 2:11-15). Yet this is the man God called to lead His people to the Promised Land, to receive the Ten Commandments, to be a pivotal figure in salvation history.
Or consider the apostle Paul, a religious zealot who in his hatred for Christians conspired in putting them to death for their faith. Yet Jesus called Paul to Himself, directed him to write most of the New Testament, and turned him into the early Church’s greatest missionary to the Gentiles (Acts 9:26-28).
Despite their past, offenders who come to Jesus have a new identity and a new relationship with Christ; therefore, as believers, we are to assist prisoners to come to know the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Creator and Savior Jesus Christ.
So, what is our motive for getting involved in prison ministry? Our motive is the great love of our Savior, who came to this sinful world, who saw the great needs of lost people, who felt compassion for them, and who served them with the good news of salvation. If you have experienced salvation you should be one of Jesus’ workers in His harvest since He wants you to see as He saw, to feel as He felt, and to do as He did.
Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:35-38)
As ambassadors for Christ we should reach out and love lost people as Jesus did.
We at Mission Venture Ministries are involved in writing and giving hope to the prisoners that are signed up with Crossroads Prison Ministry. If you would like to partner with this amazing ministry and help a prisoner find salvation in Christ, please get in touch with them thru the following link https://cpministries.org, since they are having a great need of mentors to help these prisoners. This is done completely anonymously, by writing letters to them through the coordination of the Crossroads headquarters.
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Mission Venture Ministries 