December 28,1996
Dear Br. Mark:
I am not unmindful of your desire for a new pair of tennis shoes, but, as you said, we don’t know each other very well. Perhaps, it would be well to get acquainted, first, before discussing financial desires.
If you have a Bible or access to one, please read the third chapter
of acts. Here is the story of a crippled man who was forced to
beg for a living. He had chosen an advantageous place for his
begging, at the temple gate, where Jewish worshipers frequently
came and went and where begging prospects were most lucrative.
I am sure he earned a very good living at his job, knowing just
how to look pathetic in a certain way in order to elicit sympathy
for his plight, which was real enough.
Two of Christ’s disciples happened along, and the man, thinking
to ply his craft, begged a favor of these men, who probably looked
like good prospects for a hand out. To his consternation, they
refused his request, and, instead, gave him something better.
This man was born crippled and probably knew only the begging
trade as his soul means of support, there being no welfare or
medicare in those days.
Undoubtedly he had given up all hope of ever recovering the use
of his feet, and, therefore, asked for less then Peter and John
desired to give him. This is often our attitude toward God, who
is the source of all benevolence or good gifts. We don’t
ask enough of God, being satisfied with the price of tennis shoes
when he desires to give us more then we could ask or even think.
God desired to give him more then money (the silver and gold),
rather, he desired to give him freedom from his imprisonment.
This man was in prison as verily as you are in jail for he was
imprisoned by physical deformities or handicaps.
Because God loved this man, he gave him what he neither asked
for nor even desired, restoration of health and freedom from his
prison of circumstances. No longer was he forced to beg for a
few dollars for tennis shoes, he was now free to earn his own
livelihood, he was free to walk the streets, to breath the fresh
air, and to go wherever he desired, unhampered by constraining
circumstances.
No, I am not suggesting that I know a good lawyer, or have the
keys to your cell, but I do offer you something better then tennis
shoes, something that will set you free from your self-imposed
prison of circumstances. (Please don’t turn away from this
letter until you have read it in its entirely.) You may not want
what I offer, because it does carry a price but it does promise
everything you could ever ask for or desire.
Please read the eighth chapter of the gospel of John. Here is
recorded the story of a woman caught in adultery. Back in those
days, adultery was a big thing, today it is no big deal. This
woman, whose name was Mary, was brought to Jesus by the very men
who had tempted her into adultery. They desired to entrap Jesus,
but he turned the tables on them. You can read the story for yourself.
When the woman expected to be condemned by Jesus, as she had already
been condemned by everyone else, he refused to condemn her and,
instead, set her free, biding her to go and sin no more. When
she expected only condemnation, she met, instead, only genuine
caring and forgiveness.
She knew she was guilty and expected to be executed momentarily,
for the punishment for adultery, in those days, was instant death
by stoning.
Both of these stories have similarities. Both people received
that which they did not expect. Both were introduced to Christ’s
love in different ways and with different outcomes but each experienced
the same result, freedom. The one was freed from a life long disability,
the other was freed from the consequences of sin, which can often
be a greater release then physical healing.
The thief on the cross, at the time of the crucifixion, is another
example of receiving what he did not expect and of being set free.
Here was a criminal, a thief, who was condemned to die for his
thieving. They dealt with crime in very different ways in those
days then we do today.
This man recognized his Savior in the form of the man dying on
the cross next to him. Becoming aware of the enormity of his guilt,
he turned to Christ and repented and confessed his sins and was
instantly assured of Christ’s pardon and forgiveness. While
the thief died that afternoon, along with his Savior, he received
his freedom. But what freedom is there is death? Much.
These three stories illustrate a facet of Christ’s mission
that few Christians understand. Christ desires to set us free,
free from physical deformities, free from the sin of the heart,
and free from the guilt of the soul. In neither of these three
illustrations, did the person ask for or desire what they received,
they all looked for something of lesser value. The lame man desired
only money. The woman caught in adultery desired only to live.
The thief on the cross desired only to be remembered by Christ
when he entered his kingdom. But each received a greater gift,
The lame man received healing, the woman received forgiveness,
and the thief received an assurance of everlasting life.
Br. Joseph, God desires to give you something better then you ask. Again, read the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John. This woman was interested only in obtaining the water at the bottom of the well, but Jesus desired to give her something better but before he could inspire her to desire his gift, he had to arouse her interest. Therefore, he asked her to call her husband, which she demurred to do, for she wasn’t married. Why did Christ ask this question, for he already knew the answer? He desired to awaken in her a sense of her sin, then the need for a Savior. Only when she was sensible of her guilt would she desire a Savior and only when she finally desired a Savior could Christ tell her of his marvelous gift, that she already had the gift of salvation and was freed from the bondage of sin and its consequences.
We value earthly things, became we are of the earth, but Christ
offers us heavenly things, for our real home is in heaven. Br.
Joseph, consider the exchange, if I gave you the money you requested
for the tennis shoes and failed to give you the greater gift of
freedom from guilt, of what profit is this transaction?
Before I consider your request, for tennis shoes, please answer
several questions. First, how did you become acquainted with Homeward-Bound
Family Services? Second, for what crimes are you imprisoned? And
finally, what efforts have you made to make restitution for your
crime? You may assume that your imprisonment is restitution, but
it is not, it is punishment. The two terms are different as night
and day. To be punished is not the same as making restitution
for an offense against another person.
Zacchaeus, a fraudulent IRS tax collector in Christ’s time,
made complete restitution of everything he had fraudulently overcharged,
and then some. He was not content just to repay what he had stolen,
through fraud and deceit, he repaid four times the amount of his
theft. For example, if he cheated a tax payer in the amount of
$10.000.00 he repaid $40.000.00. This manner of repayment was
in accordance with the Mosaic law of the old testament which required
a repayment ratio of 3 to 1 for fraud, theft, or damage of borrowed
property. To cite another modern example of this ancient law,
if you or I stole a car valued at $15.000.00 and sold it we would
have been required to purchase three cars of equal value and give
these three cars to the victim of our crime. They did not have
jails in those days, for this type of restitution tended to discourage
crime. In the case of murder, for example, the death sentence
was speedily executed by the relatives of the victim without recourse
to lengthy stays of execution. Be thankful that we do not live
in those times.
Have you repented of your crime? Have you made restitution to
the victim? The truly repentant person, the one who recognizes
that he or she has actually wounded Christ in the person of one
of his children, will endeavor to manifest his repentance through
restitution of what was stolen.
If you have not made restitution, perhaps it would be well to
begin with the money you requested for the tennis shoes. I assume
that you have opportunities to earn some small amounts of money
while in prison. A good faith attempt at restitution is the first
step toward freedom from a guilty conscience.
I look forward to hearing from you very soon, Br. Joseph and of
learning of your plans for restitution. Here you manifest true
repentance and are prepared to receive the gift Christ desires
to give you, a knowledge of his character of unconditional love.
Remember, we at Homeward-Bound specializes in unconditional love,
but it may not be what you expected.
May the Lord bless you. Your brother in Christ.
Allen A. Benson