The Gospel at Gunpoint
 
Two weeks ago on "BreakPoint," I shared with you the crisis
facing this nation's criminal justice system. With half-a-million
prisoners being released each year--two-thirds of them re-offending,
50 percent of them being re-incarcerated--we are discovering that
we simply must be changing the hearts of criminals.
 
Thankfully, Christian volunteers are stepping up to the task of
mentoring inmates. And faith-based programs, such as Prison
Fellowship, are discovering innovative ways to bring Jesus into
the prisons. But there is still a question, and it is one that may--
unfortunately—hit you where you live. What do you do when crime meets you?
 
I came across an amazing story the other day that reminded
me just how much being a follower of Jesus can shape the
way you face what you hope you never have to face: a thief
at gunpoint. Maybe you saw the story, too.
 
Ninety-two-year-old Pauline Jacobi had just finished loading her
groceries into her car at a local Wal-Mart in Dyer County,
Tennessee. She got in her car, and a moment later, a man
climbed into the passenger side. He said he had a gun and that
he would shoot her if she did not hand over her money. What
she did next did not involve pepper-spray or martial arts, but
it did save her life and may have saved his.
 
Pauline calmly refused her would-be robber three times. Then
she said, "You know, as quick as you kill me, I'll go to heaven
and you'll go to hell." Then she told him that he needed to ask
God for forgiveness. "Jesus is in this car," she said, "and He
goes with me everywhere I go." Jacobi said that the man looked
around, and then tears began to come to his eyes.
 
For 10 more minutes, Jacobi shared with the man. Finally, he
said, "I think I will go home tonight and pray." But Jacobi told
him that he did not need to wait to pray; he could pray now.
 
Then Jacobi, voluntarily, offered the man all the money she had
on her, 10 bucks, on one condition--that he not spend the money
on whiskey. After that, the man kissed her on the cheek, got
out of the car, and walked away.
 
You know what really impresses me about this story is how
this woman's faith informed her in this moment of crisis. She
was not using her faith to save her skin. It was simply a faith
that was so close to the surface, she could not help but
respond from it. Her audacity could have very well led to her
death. But the beauty of it was that even if it had, she knew her
Maker and had a secure future hope.
 
Is your faith so close to you that in the time of ultimate testing,
it rises to the surface that quick? Or if you have been the victim
of crime, is your faith informing how you process that experience,
how you think about forgiveness, how you think about justice, and
how you hope for restoration?

We live in a fallen world, a world in which crime is a tragic reality.
We cannot control always when or how it may visit us, but we can
be ready with a faith fit for any trial--including that one.

Mark Earley

Mark Earley, 50, former State Senator (1987-1997) and Attorney
General of Virginia (1998-2001), became president of Prison
Fellowship on February 1, 2002.

As President and CEO of Prison Fellowship USA, Earley oversees
the national ministry founded by Charles Colson in 1976, which has
since spread to 108 countries in addition to the United States. Prison
Fellowship's core commitments are Fellowshipping with Jesus, Visiting
Prisoners, and Welcoming Their Children. In line with these commitments,
PF works with thousands of churches and volunteers across the U.S.
to disciple prisoners and prepare them to re-enter the community; to
minister year-round to prisoners' children through Christmas, camping,
and mentoring programs; and to help redeem the culture by embracing,
defending, and applying a clear biblical worldview.

You can contact Mark via the Prison Fellowship website at:  http://www.pfm.org