A letter came into the office today. The postage meter banner identified it as inmate mail from a nearby prison. His is not my story to share, but let me just say he is not eligible for parole until 2014. Since his incarceration he has accepted Christ and gotten clean of drugs and alcohol. As with other inmates I have communicated with, one of his deepest hungers is for contact with people on the outside: I have written to so many Pen-Pal services in the past 4 1/2 years it's really amazing that my name and address hasn't been posted on the Internet as the loneliest man in the country.
According to his letter, his inquiries to Pen-Pal services have only gotten him on an endless waiting list, and his letters to churches have never once been answered. Read Matthew 25:31-45.
I'm not naive, and I know inmates try all sorts of scams to engage people on the outside for whatever reason. The letter we received may be one of hundreds of letters, which are no more than hooks in the water waiting for some unwary and well-meaning fish to take a bite. When we were in Georgia and my wife was in Real Estate, she got a letter from an Alabama inmate complete with her picture torn out of a newspaper advertisement. He just wanted friendship. And I've got swamp land in Florida I'd like to sell you. She didn't reply.
It's like the guy with the Will Work for Food sign. Even though Proverbs 19:17 says God will repay our gifts to the poor, our first response is usually, He'll use the money for drugs or alcohol. Let's face it; experience has trained us to be skeptics. Maybe that's why Jesus said we must be childlike to enter the kingdom. Growing in Christ involves learning a lot of things, but it also involves unlearning some things, too.
I guess I have some corresponsdence to answer.
According to his letter, his inquiries to Pen-Pal services have only gotten him on an endless waiting list, and his letters to churches have never once been answered. Read Matthew 25:31-45.
I'm not naive, and I know inmates try all sorts of scams to engage people on the outside for whatever reason. The letter we received may be one of hundreds of letters, which are no more than hooks in the water waiting for some unwary and well-meaning fish to take a bite. When we were in Georgia and my wife was in Real Estate, she got a letter from an Alabama inmate complete with her picture torn out of a newspaper advertisement. He just wanted friendship. And I've got swamp land in Florida I'd like to sell you. She didn't reply.
It's like the guy with the Will Work for Food sign. Even though Proverbs 19:17 says God will repay our gifts to the poor, our first response is usually, He'll use the money for drugs or alcohol. Let's face it; experience has trained us to be skeptics. Maybe that's why Jesus said we must be childlike to enter the kingdom. Growing in Christ involves learning a lot of things, but it also involves unlearning some things, too.
I guess I have some corresponsdence to answer.
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