One time I went to a prison event and was getting prepared before I went into the prison and was praying about it. I was tasked with going into a special unit which is a separate facility reserved for sex offenders, and snitches that would be killed if they went into general population. I knew there were guys in there who had raped little kids, some as young as one year old. I had to pray fervently in order to help these guys find their way to Jesus. My flesh wanted to pound them into oblivion.
As I was praying I happened to think of another prison event in Georgia that I had attended.
At the time I had been going hard traveling everywhere conducting business and trying to earn a living and when I wasn’t doing that I was speaking in prisons and elsewhere and trying my utmost to spread the Gospel at every opportunity. Several of my well-meaning friends were concerned about my horrendous schedule affecting my health and advised me to stop and smell the roses.
As I was thinking and praying about this I received an email from my former Sunday school teacher, Terry Powell who had attended a prison event with me the previous night. He wrote, “I believe what we were doing at the prison last night was “smelling the roses”, or more rightfully ‘The Rose!”.
Hmmm…The inmates smelled more like boar hogs to me, but his point about serving Jesus is a valid one and I get it.
Though we have not known each other but a few years, my brother in Christ, Terry, is one of my favorite people in this world. He wrote: “Bob . . . I have never had a friend like you. And I can truthfully say that to a few other friends. Friendships ordained by God are all unique. Supernatural friends I call them. I know that if it were not for Jesus I would have never met you.
Hmmm . . . Supernatural friends . . . I like it.
I have and love my supernatural friends too, they admonish me when I’m off track, cheer me when I’m down, comfort me when I grieve, reassure me when I don’t know which way is up or down, embolden me when I face the enemy, inspire me to be the best I can, hearten me that things can work in this unworkable world, and kick my butt when I start feeling sorry for myself and begin to wallow and launch a pity party for myself complete with warm milk, cupcake, and lighted candle.
In short they care about me and love me.
News Flash: For all you atheists and non-believers take note; your friends who seem to be straight out of hell don’t give a damn about you.
When speaking I often ask inmates how many of their brothers from the hood are coming into the prison to see them, how many dope dealers or guys from the neighborhood bar have come to see them; how many of those gals that hung out when they had money in their jeans are visiting. Heck their own families won’t even come to see them, much less those reprobates.
You want to know who comes to see them? Those followers of Jesus Christ, who volunteer their time and don’t know them from Adam, but despite that minor detail, love all and serve all. We are their supernatural friends powered by a supernatural God who in His own words said in John 15:13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Check out Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Hmmm . . . God didn’t let our sins stop Him from being friends with us. In fact, He expressed the highest form of friendship by giving up His life for us BEFORE we got saved. How much more so should we emulate that . . .
Okay someone is a homosexual, criminal, adulterer, thief, murderer, liar, has HIV, Gonorrhea, and syphilis, is a coveter, gossip, angry, violent murderer, his feet stink and he doesn’t believe in God.
Now what?
God tells us to Love the sinner and hate the sin(s) . . .
Can the legalistic, judgmental, condemning, self-righteous, religious men and women, of the church get by those sins and see a lost soul that needs the love of Jesus blanketing them? I went into that special unit that day and many men gave their life to Jesus. It was difficult as mere flesh to minister to them, but I’m glad I did. Jesus didn’t need my help to mete out punishment to them for their sins and the same holds true for all of us and our sins.
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 3:1
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him.