Unlocking and Releasing
Originally scheduled for August 29
It is a time honored practice. No matter what his catalog of
crime, the felon in our prisons is not really released. He is unlocked. The
guard unlocks the cell, the shackles, the doors – and puts the prisoner on a
van to be taken to the bus station. There he is given a voucher for travel to
his home town – and the phone number of his parole agent. One has to ask: is
this really a good way to help a sinner maintain his repentance? The answer
comes back: the “memory of his punishment will do that.” Somehow, it doesn’t
seem to work as advertized.
How different it is for the children of Christ! The price of
our sins was not paid by our imprisonment but his pain and suffering at the
Cross. We are not cast off and cast out; we are welcomed into the church, the
family of God. Nor are we left to find our own way; we are strengthened by
those around us and guided by God’s Word.
But the prison system has taught us one thing: “the memory
of his punishment.” We need to be reminded of what it cost the sinless Son of
God to provide for us. We didn’t suffer; He did. Often enough that keeps the
suffering from our mind. So God has provided a memorial to that punishment.
One reason we take Communion is so that we will remember the pain and suffering
of our Lord – pain and suffering which we rightly deserve. By his stripes we
are healed; by his sacrifice we are saved from Hell.
It goes beyond that. The prisoner often sees his life as
needing no change – other than being smarter next time, so as to not get
caught. The Christian sees a life that needs to change – to become more like
Christ. As we do this, we discover that fear gives way to love and joy.
Prisoners are unlocked. Saints are set free.
