Reflection:

An acquaintance of ours, Gavin, has been in prison for two decades. He became a Christian early in his time there and since then, he has seen God’s grace at work in marvellous ways. Apparently, the Gospel is being preached in that prison, by the inmates, in all its fullness — repentance and transformative faith through Jesus. Gavin has seen wonderful things — hardened men responding to the grace of Jesus, and brutality turning into passion and gentleness for the Kingdom of God. But most of all, Gavin has been struck by the unity amongst the believers. He said that for 20 years, there has always been a core group of committed believers in the prison who love Jesus and each other. Whenever a Christian inmate leaves the prison, God seems to supply someone else so that the body of Christ will continue to grow and function. Gavin told me that he thinks one of the reasons their unity is so unique is because when they have conflict, they can’t run down the street and find another church. Instead, they are forced to face the hard truths about themselves, and each other, and allow the Holy Spirit to change them and conform them into the image of Christ, daily. There’s no other choice. It’s a challenge for all of us, wherever we are.

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for this reminder of the beauty of unity in the community of believers. Please help me to also die daily to pride and to forgive often, because I have been forgiven.