When in Prison, You Visited Me

 

When in Prison, You Visited Me


"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world"
Matthew 25:34

This passage is mentioned during one of Jesus' famous parables of the Sheep and the Goats right before His crucifixion where He is foretelling what will happen when He returns at the end of the age for the final judgement. 

 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 
Matthew 25:31-33

So, what will it take for the Lord to consider you a sheep and worthy of the inheritance of the kingdom of Heaven?

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:35-40

Our brothers and sisters are our 'neighbors'. They are our fellow human beings no matter their story, their sins, their failures. 

The last group mentioned in this parable is where I got stuck. Prison? Visit someone in prison? That seemed near to impossible for me but it was on my heart to pray for a way I could do this. Through His faithfulness, the Lord answered my prayer by bringing to my attention the efforts of God Behind Bars. 

The idea of bringing the Gospel to inmates resonated so deeply with me. I thought back to how many warriors for Christ were imprisoned during their missions: John the Baptist, Paul and practically all the apostles at one point or another. Yet, you find verses like: “The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. ” Acts 5:41.

The powerful testimony below is one of many that have come forth from the efforts of this mission. Please pray for all those involved in God Behind Bars and of course, for the inmates themselves.

May God Bless you and the Peace of Christ surround you.

- A

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