Having had a set of stimulating conversations as of lately, I would like to ponder a verse of scripture and the implied implications and application.
The text in question is as follows “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. – Isaiah 1:18
I would like to cite another verse in proper context along these lines. "
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
For me this is GREAT news! I cannot fathom the depth of my sin and the offensive stench that I had before recieving the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus my Lord. Then someone shared with me the gift of eternal life. Now I have become the sweet aroma to God in Christ. But the greatest thing is that I know that if I were to die today, I know for certain that I would be with Christ in Heaven.
Now this gift of eternal life was granted to me while in the depths of prison amongst the "scum of the earth." I thank God,that He has chosen the despised and rejected things of the earth to confound the wise and esteemed of this world.
It was while incarcerated that I was set free from the chains of sin and death. It was while wearing a white stripe that I handed over the number 888918 and the old man attached to that number. It was while wearing handcuffs and shackles that someone approached me with the love of God and what He did for me by executing His Son for my wretched soul. While falling on my face before God as a wretched sinner it was then I was able to look up and see the love of our Heavenly Father in the silhouette of the hill called Golgotha. 15 years later, I am still amazed by His grace. He STILL sees me through the eyes of His Son. I still have that number and will carry it until the day they place this old dead body in the ground. However, I know that if a man is in Christ He is a new creation! Hallelujah.
Yes brother, but you still have to face the consequences for your sins you may say. And rightly so, let me bare my back for you to flog me, how many stripes would you like to give me today for sins that a dead man committed? I only say this half in jest as I understand completely that my "debt" to society can never be repaid, only reminded of. Yet amongst the body of Christ can we truly look at a brother who has been convicted and condemned in the court of man and say brother...Though your sins be as scarlet, TODAY they can be white as snow. Can We forget the sins that God has cast into the sea of forgetfulness? If you knew what I went to prison for would you still sit down and invite me into your house, around your wife? around your children? Would I be welcome in your congregration without standing before you and confessing every illicit act that I have been punished for? What about those I have never been caught for...scary thought who might be sitting around us.
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us our debts as you have forgiven us." Is this how it will be in heaven? I saw this man enter with jerod, I wonder what hideous crime he was in for. Now, listen brother I know you would never say this out loud but in our hearts? Is this how it will be in heaven. I think not. When I bowed before the Lord and confessed that I was a sinner and had offended the Holy and Righteous Judge of Earth, then and there I was recieved and accepted. It was at the cross that I understood that the penalty for my sin had been paid before the foundation of the world. Now the Theologian can argue about the process of regeneration and the actual timing of the new birth, but this I know, I once was lost but now I am found was blind but now I see. I know that today, I am a Son of the Most High God!
Those around me may question my validity, sagacity, and sanity but this is how I view these men coming to us at Faith For Freedom. They are new men as far as we are concerned. Do they come with baggage, addictions, stinkin thinkin? Yes. Will they stumble, falter and perhaps fail? Yes but are we results driven or gospel driven? He who began a good work in us will complete it until the day of Christ. I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him.
It is fairly easy to be involved in "prison ministry" while the men are tucked nicely away behind concrete, razor wire and guard towers. What about when they call you neighbor and the only thing protecting you is a three foot hedge of azaleas? When they call you brother in Sunday school? What if they just handed you their rap sheet? Would that effect how you view them? Do you even want to know...Though your sins are as scarlet yet shall they be white as snow.
