Problem for an Ex-Con

   There is a letter sitting on my desk, one that I received a few days ago. It is from a former inmate at Ware State Prison, a man that had come to Christ on a Kairos walk a couple of years back. I had corresponded with him over these years as an encouragement to him, to keep the faith he had embraced and to live for God in that hostile environment.


   Now he has been released after serving his sentence, and he writes of the struggles he is having as he tries to find a job and begin to get his life back in order again. It is hard for a man with a record to find a job in good times, but, in this uncertain economic condition, it is doubly hard. He says that he is living in a homeless shelter and cannot find anyone that will even talk to him about employment. He wants to do right and become a productive member of society, but no one will take a chance on him because of his past.


  So what do I do? How do I respond? What would God have me do? Instead of handing him a fish to eat, how can I teach him to fish? How do I boost his self respect when no one will talk to him about work?


   A passage from James 2 came to my mind as I thought on this:

   "Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?"

   I sure don't want my words to him be outrageous nonsense, so how do I respond to his plea?


   First of all, I ask God to direct my words and actions, then I act on what I hear and sense. I will give him some Biblical encouragement and tell him that I will pray for him and his situation, and I will also try to send along some practical advice that might help. Is that enough?


   No, I think not, so what? 


   I have a couple of ideas to work on today. Let's see how they turn out, and pray that God will be in it all.