Once upon a time, there was a prison guard. His primary responsibility was making sure no inmates escaped.
Two men sit in prison. They were severely beaten and incarcerated because of the message they were preaching.
An earthquake shakes the foundation of the prison, causing all doors to open.
Assuming the prisoners escaped, the guard draws his sword, preparing to take his own life. BUT, before he could follow through, one of the inmates shout: “Stop, don’t do it. We are still here.”
The guard did not take his own life. He instead decided to accept the message provided by the two men. His life was forever changed.
This story can be found in Acts 16.
I wonder about this prison guard. What had his life been like? What would it have felt like to blow the one responsibility I had? Would I have known that the consequence for the guard not fulfilling his duties would most likely be death?
Out of all people to encourage this hopeless man, it was an inmate who was beaten, chained, and thrown in prison. Without him, the guard would be dead. Why did the prisoner choose to do this?
He was paying forward what had been given to him.
People are suffering.
It’s easy to judge and let our opinions run rampant when we haven’t been in someone else’s shoes and don’t understand the “why’s.”
What if we started asking more questions and getting to know people’s stories? What if we were increasingly vulnerable about our struggles, decreasing feelings of loneliness and isolation? What if we viewed every single person as a child of God?
What we say and do matters. The way we treat people matters.
Unworthy is a belief of many in despair. If they only knew how cherished and loved they were.
Let us be His hands and feet.