Interesting Story!
28 Prisoners in the Mississippi State Penitentiary received their bachelor's
degrees in Christian Ministry on Wednesday from the New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary. Most of them are long-term prisoners and have been
working on obtaining their degrees since 2004. Among the prisoners were
murderers, rapists, and robbers who will probably never be released from
prison. For them it was a great accomplishment and a way for them to be able
to minister their fellow inmates. Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said
the prison is "going to allow them to go to different units in this prison
and minister to the other inmates" and also says "As we invest in them, we
wean them to work back in the system". One of the inmates that graduated
said "The Lord put it in my heart that I needed to make a change, I want to
open their eyes up that God really loves them".
What an amazing story of redemption, God's grace, and an awesome way to
minister to the other inmates in the prison!
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090521/NEWS/905210338
Wow! That's amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have many different feelings about this story. It's hard to get past the fact that these people committed horrible, unthinkable crimes. I almost feel like they don't deserve anything. On the other hand, I know I need to take a step back and realize that I'm not the one to decide that. Only God can truly judge them, and that's the only judgement that matters. He has the ability to forgive all sins if someone asks His forgiveness. I think it is only fair that these criminals remain in prison, because they must serve the time for their crimes. However, obviously these guys have shown a lot of commitment and have made a huge effort to make a turn around. With their new knowledge and degrees in Christian Ministry, I believe they are in the perfect place to preach God's word. There are so many people in prison who need to hear the word, and I think these guys have the ability to do a lot of good and save some lives.