- Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind but now I see.
For approximately two months, as a Pastoral Visitor, I have been visiting someone who is locked up at a maximum-security mental health hospital. During my visits, I have learned a great deal! My attitude towards these people has changed. Given enough stress and the inability to cope with one's problems, a mental breakdown could happen to any one of us. These people are both victims of circumstances that have occurred during their lifetime and children of God at the same time. The brain indeed is a very complex piece of mass.
You may say, "How can you visit and show that you care for such people? These people are murderers, rapists or child molesters." "These people should be locked up for life and the key thrown away!" or, "They should be put to death!" or "An eye for an eye!"
And yet, Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. If we are truly sorry for what we have done, God, who is just, will forgive us our sins, whether it be murder, lying, stealing, adultery or rape. All sin is sin.
It is by grace that we are saved; we have only to believe. My client may never leave the hospital, as he has to serve his time for what he has done, but he is free to receive God's grace and the promise of eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. (NASB)
Prayer: Father, thank you for your grace. We do not deserve it, yet You love us so much that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
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