Remember the Prisoners
By Dr. Glenn Cope, Tonkawa church of Christ
The men and women behind bars, those who seem to have the most broken lives, can be made whole when they respond to God’s call. We believe that every life matters whether they are prisoners behind bars, victims of crime, or families torn apart by incarceration—all are loved by God, and they are worthy of our attention.
“Remember the prisoners” is a command in Hebrews 13:3. Perhaps he was speaking about remember fellow Christians who were suffering persecution. But we must consider Jesus himself in the judgment scene of Matthew 25 issued condemnation or praise based on our loving care for those in prison. While some may argue that the whole prison experience was quite different than what we have today, that is simply to turn a blind eye to a serious problem. It is true that in ancient times, the prisoner’s welfare frequently depended on family and friends and today we see that prisoners have a far different life by comparison.
However, we cannot ignore our injunctions to “remember” those in prison. We believe that every life matters whether they are prisoners behind bars, victims of crime, or families torn apart by incarceration—all are loved by God, and they are worthy of our attention. The men and women behind bars, those who seem to have the most broken lives, can be made whole when they respond to God’s call.
The verb in Hebrews 13:3 “to remember” means that this is not an accidental call to mind, but is an intentional thought that has some purposeful consideration. So, to dismiss helping or serving those in prison because they are beyond help, or unworthy of our time and efforts – is simply to ignore what we have been instructed to do.
In addition, the command includes more. It tells us to remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself! Put yourself in their shoes. Practice the “Golden Rule” (Mt 7:12). Jesus when he described the judgment scene said about those who were being welcomed into heaven said about the acts of kindness they had done, “…naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to me” (Matt. 25:36). Now one the other side were those who were turned away from entering heaven and Jesus said that they had not done these acts of ...
