A prisoner set free

I'm sure you saw it the other day, but it's worth delving back into. Chuck Colson died. But what I want to do this morning is reverse engineer (the wildly popular term these days) his obit.
Most obits that I looked at talked about his days as part of the Watergate conspiracy. Surely Colson was part of that infamous part of our history.

But there toward the end, we read: Before (his) plea (as part of the conspiracy), Colson read C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" and pledged to become an evangelical Christian. Opponents sneered that his conversion was phony and only designed to win him sympathy.

But for the rest of his life, Colson worked to bring Christian messages and Bible study to prisoners and their families. In 1983, he helped found Justice Fellowship to rehabilitate prisoners and bring about prison reform such as better job training for inmates.

Time magazine named Colson one of the 25 most influential evangelical Christians in America in 2005. At that time, Time said his Prison Fellowship Ministries was a $50 million organization with operations in 110 countries.

‘His famous redemption story and tireless advocacy on behalf of the marginalized and the outcast have called all of us to a deeper reflection on our lives and priorities," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. "He lives on as a modern model of redemption and a permanent rebuttal to the cynical claim that there are no second chances in life.'

I will be willing to bet that he would said they buried the lead. What was most important in his life was the fact he has been born again, quite literally.

Colson was a perfect look at how we all get second chances. God is so willing to do this through his grace and mercy.

The past two weeks I've offered what amounts to United Methodist altar calls at one of my churches. What has been very interesting is no one (NONE) has taken me up on it. No one has wanted to talk about their life, their circumstances. Nothing.

Now, I'm not in a position to judge anyone, but the fact that everyone is absolutely sin free, absolutely pain free, absolutely worry free is really special. No one in this church has ever come and knelt at the altar. Not once, even during communion. The odds of that, well, wow.

Colson, I believe, would have had no problem kneeling at the altar. In fact, his life was one big kneel. I understand his love for prison ministry because there is always someone who has that same desire...to be washed by the blood and given a fresh start, even if they are still imprisoned physically.

God speed, Chuck.