When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them ... (Matthew 9:36)

On my first visit to a prison in northern Portugal, in the mid-1970's, I was taken by the way the inmates welcomed us ... There were hugs and big smiles and it seemed like they jumped up and down with joy every time we came.

At first, I thought that the warm welcome the inmates gave to my companions and me was because I was the voice of a Bible study radio broadcast, and they wanted to meet the man behind the voice.

Later, I found out that once those men were locked up, they were abandoned. Neither their relatives nor their friends came to see them. Let's face it: who would want to have a convict for a friend, or for a cousin, or even for a brother?

We are told to be supportive all of the time, even when it is uncomfortable or risky to do so.

During one of my first visits to the French Robertson Unit here in Abilene, one inmate's first words to me were: "Welcome to the Cemetery of the Living." Later on, that same man confided to me I was his only visitor in ten years. He had not had a single person come to visit him in an entire decade.

Another inmate there — a man from Matanzas, Cuba — gave me his home address in his country. The first chance I had to visit Cuba, I went to see his family. There I learned that they had had no communication with him for the past twenty years. The man's mother had died, and he was unaware of it.

When Paul admonished the Colossians about being supportive, (Colossians 3:13) he did not say that the Christian should bear with his or her brothers and sisters only when the circumstances were right! No, we are told to be supportive all of the time, even when it is uncomfortable or risky to do so. To shoot a wounded comrade would be bizarre behavior for a solider. Yet this is what we do every time we turn our back to a hurting brother.

And when we visit the sick and the prisoners, they are not the only ones who receive a blessing. It blesses us just as well. These people are very close to the heart of God. According toMatthew 25:45, as we minister to them, so we are ministering to Jesus Christ himself. What a thought! We can minister to Christ.

 

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© 2004 Lou Seckler.

Title: "How You Can Minister to Christ"
Author: Lou Seckler
Publication Date: March 27, 2004

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Lou Seckler works with Harvest Ministries in Abilene, Texas

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