“Free Indeed”

“Dead man walking!” one of the prison guards shouted as they escorted the death row inmate to a small dark room with glass mirrors.

At one point he stopped walking, making them drag him by the tippy-toe of his orange slippers like the muffler of my dad’s old beat up station wagon.

The two cops picked him up just enough to seat him in top of a white bed that was ironically shaped like a cross. He surveyed the room and saw a doctor dressed in all white and wished he was his guardian angel.

“Yeah, angel of death,” he mumbled to himself when he saw the needle the doctor had in his hand that was meant to take his life.

At the opposite side of the table was a priest and the warden. Also, on the other side of the mirror was the family and friends of his victims, along with members of the media.

The warden spoke for the first time and asked the convict as if he were challenging him, “Any last request?”

(I would’ve asked for a tour of the Little Debbie’s plant in Tennessee, if I were him. For that was probably the closet to heaven he was ever going to see! Ha!)

“Yes, I would like to say sorry to all affected by the terrible crime I’ve committed,” he said, surprising everyone, including himself.

The reporters looked stunned as they wrote everything down on their little note book pads.

Before he could continue the warden looked at the minister and nodded his head. The priest in turn asked the convicted felon to repeat after him as he recited The Lord’s Prayer. He echoed Matthew 6:9-13 and started crying as he remembered his mother teaching him it as a child.

And, in a loud sob said, “Forgive me, God. Please, forgive me.”

Then, in a scene reminiscent to a Hollywood movie the earth shook and next to him appeared a Man. He knew him right away to be Jesus and knelt before him balling. The warden, priest and the guards did the same. So did everyone else on the other side of the mirror who were minutes before judging the criminal as if they were innocent, but felt just as guilty as he in the presence of a perfect God.

Jesus unchained him and embraced him with His nail scarred hands. Then, placed Himself on the bed and poked Himself with the needle that had been earlier been held by the doctor. He took the prisoner’s place. He died so he could live.

Sounds familiar? It should. It’s your biography. That’s exactly what Jesus did for you and for me! So, in this month as we in the states celebrate America’s independence, I invite you to celebrate yours. Rejoice, you’ve been set free!

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 NIV)