I have a plaque on my desk at the prison. It reads, “Tetelesti”. It is Greek for “It is finished” (John 19:30). Because it is in Greek, many staff and inmates have inquired as to its meaning. That was exactly what I was hoping for when I first placed it on my desk fifteen years ago. I hoped then that people’s inquiries would allow me to talk about Jesus (and occasionally share the gospel). That is how it has worked out.
This week, I had an inmate come into my office, look at the plaque and say, “It is finished”. I was very surprised, as he was the first person to ever know what the plaque meant. We quickly learned that we were both believers, and yet there we were, with our respective labels. For me, I am referred to as staff, and a “Psych”. For him, he is referred to as an inmate, and a murderer. Yet God calls us the same things, such as child, saint, beloved, and redeemed. If you are a believer, you (and I) will spend eternity with this man. We will rejoice forever with him because of Jesus. We will sing praises to His name day after day. We will both know that we don’t deserve to be there, and that in different ways, we were both condemned.
My experience with his inmate reminded me of how different believers can be. When we are in church, we figure that we are all pretty much the same – relatively good and responsible people. I think that sometimes we figure that is what the church is made up of. Yet this inmate challenges all of us to see our brothers and sisters in Christ in much broader ways. Some believers have more visible scars, and have caused others tremendous pain. Some believers are still not safe to be in society. Some are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Some have tattoos of gang symbols. Some still curse, and say things that are not the best, but are asking God to control their tongue. Yes, some are still doing things that have no place in the life of a believer, and they hate that they are doing them, and don’t understand why. Some are struggling with gender identity issues and how to deal with their urges.
I have heard it said that we (those who come to church regularly) “clean up pretty well on Sunday”. This is true. Yet, there are plenty of folks redeemed by the blood of Jesus who don’t. How would we react if one of those came into church? What if they smelled, or dressed weird, or seemed bizarre? Would we respond to them as we would others who “fit the mold”?
I am glad that Jesus didn’t take this approach. He loved the sinner and came to seek and save them, and this included prostitutes, cheats, the crass, those sanctioning murder, and others with reprehensible qualities. His kingdom is filling up with many of these sort, and if we look deep enough into ourselves, such were you and I (we just had our own version of offenses towards God).
We are to love the sinner and do all that we can to tell them of the grace of God. God’s Word said that He is pleading for their souls through us, no matter what they look like or how they act.
Is this blog challenging you or making you feel uncomfortable? Are you having a hard time understanding it?
Is it all “Greek” to you?
If it is, I know an inmate who really gets it. It is not Greek to him.
For Jesus,
Rob