In the Gospels, we get a sense of the profound, loving relationship between God the Father and His Son, Jesus.
Only once do we see the Father and Son separated. As Jesus hangs on the cross between two thieves, with the weight of the world’s sin on His shoulders, He feels the agony of parental absence. Though the Father loves Jesus with an inexpressible love, He could not intervene and bring Him down from the cross and still bring about the salvation and redemption of you and me. He could not do the one thing the heart of a father would be screaming to do for Jesus.
In order to adopt us, who were lost in our sin, God denied the request of His blameless, beloved Son. How much He must love us! How deep His empathy must run!
That’s the message that Prison Fellowship has been bringing into prisons around the country for nearly four decades, at Easter and throughout the year. Men and women behind bars might feel discarded by society, by their former friends, and even by the members of their own family, but God is eager to adopt them. In fact, He went through unimaginable pain so He could have that privilege.
That message of love and belonging is so powerful that it changes hearts and lives for all eternity. This Easter weekend, I am thrilled to be celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus alongside men serving time at the Carol Vance Unit in Texas.