Grace in Prison

In January, I went to prison.

I was working as a court reporter and was asked to work with an adoption attorney here in Greenville, so I quickly said yes to the job. Only after agreeing to the work, did I find out the deposition would take place at the Spartanburg Detention Facility. Yikes! I was a little nervous. I’m sure you will find this hard to believe, but I had never been to prison!

As I drove by about ten bail bond businesses, my stomach started to turn, was it really worth working if I had to go to this part of town? I drove into the parking lot and waited for a while. Fear started to creep in. People were just milling around the cars, and let’s face it you know the kind of people that mill around a prison. I decided to wait until one of the attorneys arrived to get out of my car. While I was waiting (tardiness tends to be typical attorney behavior), the thought struck me, it is only because of God’s grace that I am not in prison myself. God created and loves every prisoner who is there, and he commands us to love them. I immediately felt guilty for my lack of love for my neighbor. With this change in attitude, I was not afraid; I got out and went on into the lobby.

Once inside, we passed through metal detectors and several locked doors with the prison guard. Once we were through all the security, I started setting up my equipment and began to look around. In this small room, there was Some Lady’s desk, 2 barbershop chairs, and 3 walls lined, floor to ceiling, with books and magazines. Oh no, here comes the guilt again! It was unbelievable what I did NOT see. There was not one Christian magazine. Hooray for the Jehovah’s Witnesses though, there had to be 100 copies of “The Watchtower” and “Awake” on the shelves. I only know of one Jehovah’s Witness Temple in town, and look at what they are doing for their cause. I was embarrassed and ashamed. The streets of Greenville and Spartanburg are littered with good churches, and yet I only saw one piece of Christian literature; a Janette Oke novel. Trust me; I was really looking for something good in that room, which is probably the only reason I noticed the lone book. Speaking of the books, if you ever wanted to read a raunchy romance novel, you could find just about anything written in that genre.

This only scratches the surface of what an American prison is like; devoid of Christ and morals. A place where sin abounds. It is hard for me to imagine Paul in a prison with even far worse conditions. Not only were the physical sufferings severe, but the loneliness of few if any Christians was very real. I think this is why Paul is so thankful for Epaphroditus and Timothy. He had a true perspective of what the fellowship with other believers is all about, and what a blessing it is.

It is overwhelming to consider the wonderful grace that has been bestowed upon me, and many others like me. We were born into good Christian homes, with plenty of training in the Gospel. I see a parallel between Paul’s Jewish heritage and our American Christian background. I can name several people who were saved at very young ages. It is sometimes easy to think that we didn’t need as much grace to be saved, or to rely on that godly heritage; the contrary is true. Our salvation is one of great grace. We have been spared a life of misery, addiction, and separation from God’s love. We have been given an amazing gift. We do not have to wait to serve Christ; we can use the majority of our lives. It was not necessary for me to live much of my life in darkness, but rather in the light. It is because of this that most lifetime Christians should feel more of a duty and drive to win others for Christ and stand for His causes. It is not something to take pride in, but something that should make me humbled to my knees in thanksgiving.