Volunteer. It’s a word we hear frequently. We volunteer at church, at our children’s schools, and around the neighborhood. But is it a word we associate with Jesus?
“Volunteer” comes from a Latin word that means “willing” or “acting without compulsion.” My dictionary gives this compelling definition: “one who intrudes into a matter that does not concern him or her, as a person who pays the debt of another where he or she is neither legally nor morally bound to do so, and has no interest to protect in making the payment.”
That portrait reminds me strikingly of Jesus! He, Paul says, “did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant.” (Phil. 2:6-7)
Jesus was not bound to pay our debt of sin, but He gave Himself up for us in obedience to the Father, willingly and with joy. Jesus became the first true volunteer.
Prison Fellowship is blessed by countless volunteers who model themselves after Christ. Thousands of men and women surrender their time, giftedness, and resources to others – not out of a sense of compulsion, but out of the joy of the Gospel.
Is God calling you to give your time and treasures to the work God is doing through Prison Fellowship Ministries? In what ways is He inviting you to join Him as a Christ-like volunteer: “a person who pays the debt of another”? Learn how you can volunteer today at prisonfellowship.org/get-involved and angeltree.org.