By:
Chaplain John K. Abney, PhD, CACIII
“… I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:36)
I see them daily; hundreds of them. They are like the waves of
the ocean, constantly flowing towards me with their blue wool
pull-down caps bobbing up and down. I see and talk with more
convicted felons in one day than most people will see in a
lifetime. These men are robbers, murderers, sex addicts, sex
offenders, child molesters, domestic violence offenders, drug
addicts, drug dealers of all known legal and illegal drugs,
alcoholics, and DUI (driving under the influence) offenders.
The list is almost endless.
I have my moments when I become discouraged hearing the same
stories and excuses over and over, although, with a different
face and voice. Sometimes I cry out, “God I know You called me
into this ministry, but really, I think you have made a
mistake. Could I please take a permanent leave of absence?”
About the time I decide to quit, an inmate will say to me,
“Hey Doc, I want to thank you for really helping me through a
tough spot. I am being shipped out of here today.” Another
prisoner tells me, “You know, I never did think much of this
Jesus thing, but you got me thinking. Maybe there is something
to this Bible stuff after all.” I have planted a seed;
hopefully someone else will water; and God will reap
salvation. This is my prayer.
From the comments I receive, it is obvious that my efforts are
paying off. For instance, the African-American homosexual—with
whom I counseled for several weeks before he left the
prison—made a confession of faith and wanted to change his
lifestyle. The Hispanic who worked as a drug lord and pimp for
many years, confessed he is finished with that lifestyle and
when he leaves the prison system, this would be his last
“rodeo”.
I realize if I can genuinely help one find Jesus as their
personal Savior, it will be worth is all. I am reminded of the
child who was walking on the beach among hundreds of stranded
starfish. Picking up a starfish, the child threw it back into
the ocean. A man walking the same beach inquired, “What are
you doing?” “I’m saving the starfish by throwing them back
into the ocean,” the child replied. The man chuckled, saying,
“there are too many of them; it won’t make any difference.”
Again the child picked up a starfish and threw it into the
ocean, commenting, “It makes a difference for that one.”
I am a chaplain who is a counselor. I have worked in and
around prisons for the past forty years. Thinking of the
hundred of convicts I have talked with, prayed with and for; I
pray I have made a dent into their world. I am not responsible
for the way I find the world, but I am responsible for the way
I leave it.
Of even greater importance, I hope the Kingdom of God will be
different now and forever because convicts have experienced
salvation and new life in Christ Jesus. This is my desire and
prayer.
