The guard comes over and says, “okay, you can enter now”.
As I stand up to enter, I look up. The walls are lined with broken glass to prevent people from climbing over. The prison is down in the valley, so the wind whips right through. Even wrapped in a wool blanket, it is cold.
Walking through the hallway into the main gates, there is an inventory on the wall.
77 prisoners.
74 men.
3 women.
20 for murder. 50 for undisclosed crime, many of them being cattle theft.
40 of them are in khaki pants with a red sweatshirt and red wool blanket to wear. These are the convicted criminals.
35 are still in their street clothes, awaiting their judgment. They wait in prison until their sentence, which could take up to a year. Every day, they march hand cuffed to another prisoner to await a hearing from the judge to get their verdict: innocent or guilty.
As we approach the main courtyard of the prison, I hear drums and shakers. The prisoners are singing and dancing with joy. I was shocked. This was not what I expected the mood to be when I walked in to the prison. It was honestly amazing.
There were 7 chairs lined up in the courtyard for our team of 7 to sit in. We proceeded to sing, perform a drama, and share testimonies and the gospel with the prisoners.
When I first heard we would be going into a prison to do ministry, I was honestly a little nervous. I had never been into a prison before, and they don’t have the best reputation.
I don’t think it would have been unjustified to be afraid that day to be afraid.
But instead, the Lord allowed me to see the prisoners with His eyes. Not through eyes of condemnation, judgement, or fear; eyes of love, grace, and forgiveness.
I didn’t see men condemned by the Eternal Judge. I saw humans. Sinners, just like me. Who if they accept, will find all of their wrongs are pardoned through the grace and death of Jesus Christ.
My friend Sarah, who visited Lesostho in college taught me a phrase I couldn’t get out of my head the entire time we were in the prison:
“Kao fela rea tsoana” meaning “We are all the same”
We are all a slave to something. You cannot have two masters (Luke 16:13). Either you are a slave to your self and your sin, or you are a slave to the Lord. Christ came to Earth so that we could be freed from our sin, making us alive in Him. That He alone could be Lord of our lives.
“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin…For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:6-7,14
That morning, I started reading the book of John. In the first chapter, it talks about the way in which Jesus came to Earth: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
He did not come in condemnation, but with grace extended. He knew every sin committed and every sin that will be committed by mankind. He knew the sin that the prisoners were convicted for. He knows every one of my sins. Yet, Jesus came to Earth to die for us anyways. He came to fulfill the law of the Old Testament, so we could be free in His name and His name only.
“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given” John 1:16
ANYONE and EVERYONE who calls on the name of Jesus has forgiveness and pardon for their sins. This is the message we shared with the men in that prison that day. They can change their verdict. That same freedom is available in Christ, even if they are still in the walls of the prison.
If they believe and accept, their verdict?
Not Guilty.
