Following The Light Brings Hope

Following the Light Brings Hope

I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. John 8:12

There’s not a lot of light when I go in there. Darkness seems to permeate the atmosphere. And yet I need to go.

I have had the sad yet hope-filled privilege of visiting the inmates in many jails and prisons in my life. My dear, departed friend Abe Brown was the man who called me into that outreach.

Coach Brown realized that too many men from all sorts of backgrounds end up behind bars and need some sense of direction and hope, not only for the time they are incarcerated but also for when they are released. Too many, he realized, had never found themselves, never seen anything worthwhile in themselves, and never seen where they could possibly fit in the world around them or the world outside.

I recently saw a movie by Walden Media, under the guiding hand of my good friend Micheal Flaherty, that offers that sense of hope. I Am David follows the life of a twelve-year-old boy, David, separated from his parents in childhood and sent to a labor camp in Bulgaria, part of the Communist system of camps of the former Soviet Union.

Set just after World War II, David knows little else than the evil he sees around him. Yet through an unexpected source of grace, David escapes and survives a treacherous journey to Denmark.

Because of his past, he doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere and can only see the darkness in people and circumstances. Yet slowly, through some “chance” encounters, he begins to trust a few people in whom he sees a ray of light that finally brings him peace, comfort, and a place in the world.

That’s what a life in Christ promises for each of us. In the midst of the darkness, He will always be a light guiding and illuminating our way in order for us to discover who we were created to be in this world and the next. And we, in turn, must reflect that light for others around us.

Uncommon Key > Support a prison ministry in some way, if you can—either through volunteering, writing letters, making a charitable gift, or in some other tangible way. Help bring Christ, the Light of the World, to the lives of inmates.