Hi Todd,
I'm curious, how would you characterize your message to these people? Is it something like, "God loves you and wants to help you straighten out your life"?
The jail is a unique environment because they are painfully aware of their sin and its consequences. In many cases they have come to the end of themselves. The chaplains at the jail (who do a fantastic job) tell me that conversions happen in jail, whereas discipleship happens in prison. People in jail are waiting for something; a trial, a transfer to prison, or release, so there tends to be a high level of uncertainty and anxiety. They are also overwhelmed by a feeling of powerlessness. Also, almost without exception, they are struggling with some form of addiction.
I work primarily with the prisoners in work release. These are men and women who are not prison-bound but are serving a relatively short sentence at the jail (2 weeks to 1 year). They are preparing to go back into "the real world", and have a lot of fears about "blowing it" again. My goal is to try to equip them to go back out and make different choices by drawing strength from their relationship with Jesus.
Typically these people have a Christian background but the message they've retained is that God is very angry at them and if they can straighten up God will love them. They try to do this and invariably fail. Hopelessness sets in. Then the attitude can shift to, "Well, I'm probably going to Hell anyway, so I might as well [insert sinful destructive behavior here]".
I focus on Jesus. In our Bible studies we stick (mostly) to the Gospels and I emphasize the character of Jesus; how He was a friend of sinners. Stories like the woman caught in adultery and the prodigal son really resonate with them. One thing I tell them, at almost every meeting, is that there is nothing they can do to make God love them
more than He already does and there is nothing they can do to make God love them
less than He already does, because God's love is perfect and its not about us, its about God (I borrowed this line from Brennan Manning ... or maybe it was Philip Yancey).
My goal is for them to see that God is
for them and that He is approachable, even when we're at our worst.
The thing that I really stress is that God desires
relationship with them. I encourage them to focus on the relationship, through prayer, Bible study, community, etc. I've found in my own life that if I focus on "sin management" it becomes self-defeating, but if I focus on my relationship with the Lord, and rely on His grace, the sin issues seem to take care of themselves.
Deliverance from sin is certainly the message of the New Testament. Since I came to believe in Universal Reconciliation, I have felt like that the traditional message of deliverance from post-death hell is not really the message that Jesus meant to deliver; rather, He was trying to help them straighten out their lives and to enjoy abundant life one can have through the Spirit. Not so much, "believe now so that you go to heaven when you die," but more like, "believe now so that you can have peace with God and man." Not that the afterlife was left out of the equation, but it was not the emphasis of the message as it seems to be portrayed today.
Amen. That's what I was trying to say (very poorly) in my little WOTM diatribe. Thank you for putting it so concisely and cogently.
Jesus doesn't save us from Hell, since Hell (in the commonly understood sense of the word) doesn't exist. He saved us (all) from sin. Sin causes estrangement from God, one-another and ourselves. Christ has reconciled all things. To enter into relationship with Him is to enter into that reconciliation.
The other thing I've noticed about myself since believing in UR is my heart towards unbelievers has changed. In the past, I would subconsciencely be thinking that God must hate these people because He will torture them forever if they don't repent. But now, my heart is filled with compassion for all people knowing that God truly does love everyone.
Oh yes! This is so true! I no longer think in terms of "us" and "them". It's all "us" and we're all in this together and will all, ultimately, be together in Christ.
Hi Rick,
There's so much I could say...if I wasn't so tired.
Boy, I can relate to that! Its when I'm tired that I tend to post things that I later regret.
The "clash" we've had on this thread is really worldview. Bob, Homer, and I are theologically conservative while 'you guys' are theologically liberal on issues relating to what we've been discussing.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say we have different
worldviews, but certainly different
paradigms (thought patterns) in this specific area. Also I think the words "conservative" and "liberal" carry a lot of baggage that may not be helpful.
