The Door
by Kathy Brown on October 2nd, 2009 | 2 comments
A few years ago, I was introduced to prison ministry for women. The first evening that I signed into the penal facility was memorable. Clutching our Bibles, several of us were ushered past a sliding door. It slammed behind us, and we stood together locked in tight quarters about the size of an elevator. The air was stuffy and seconds seemed to tick out loud. Beads of sweat accumulated on each one of us, and they glistened under the yellow light hanging from the ceiling. No one had to say anything because the fidgeting said it all. We wanted out. Finally, a new world opened up before us, and we stepped into a hallway that led us to the chapel where rows and rows of inmates chatted and waited for the evening to begin.
Before my very eyes were lives that had experienced the physical, spiritual and emotional deformity of sin. Each one was once a lovely, fresh baby born to become a worshipper of the Living God, intended to be a restorer of rightness and in an intimate relationship with the One who created them. So much had happened since that first breath. Their collective cry, and the lament of almost any thinking person is: if God is Good, why is there so much evil in this world?
There are several approaches to this difficult question. Many look around and decide that because there is badness, there is no God. However, admitting there is such a thing as “bad” means there is also a reference to “good.” And this alludes to the idea that there is a Designer who puts a standard into the universe. Chance, or evolution, cannot randomly come to an unchangeable marker of right.
Admitting there is a God leads to wondering if God is a wimp. If this God were more than man, He could prevent evil. But He hasn’t, so God must be weak; and there is no need to pay attention to a tame god like that. This, of course, does not address another possibility. There has been allowed, among God’s creation, a rebellious entity that infects the world with all kinds of deviations from God’s intentions.
Why would a Good God let this interloper loose? Perhaps this deity is indifferent or worse! There is an alternate explanation. God is love, and that “love” is not a chain that holds and constrains. It operates within the context of free choice, and although it is painful to be rejected, this God suffers rebuff for those who will embrace His affection.
If the story ended here, it would make sense. But, unlike any other worldview, Christianity offers something more. This Good God that allows evil promises to ultimately call evildoers into account. His unconventional means of bringing peace is through forgiveness. His proposterous proposition is that He can swap an old crusty life for a lively, new one.
Prisoners bent and broken by sin are witnesses to the fact that this world is not as it should be. In fact, we all fight on a battleground. Some wounds are more obvious than others, but each of us has scars. But, the God of the Bible, who has been impuned so often with a bad rap, has measured carefully an exit for anyone who wants an ultimate escape from all the rubble of sin. God has provided a way out through the Door, and His name is Jesus. Unlike the one that clanks us into captivity, He sets us free.
From the Word of God to ponder:
"Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." John 8:32 (NIV)
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2 Comments Add your comment
Peggy Kilen October 11th, 2009
I am hosting a meeting of The Network jail volunteers that minister to the women in our local jail. Your article is a perfect read and hand out as we all know the feeling you had first going in and the questions that come from seeing or living such pain. Am I free to copy and circulate it?
Kathy Brown October 12th, 2009
Peggy--I reviewed this article and made some changes, as I often do, to improve it. I hope it is useful in some way. Of course, copy and circulate anything that is beneficial. God bless you and your ministry . . . Kath
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