DO YOU EVER EXPECT TO BE BEHIND PRISON BARS?
By David Paulson
When a man enters a prison, at that moment the world becomes as dead to him as he does to the world. It is a domain that the message of the gospel has never succeeded in making any special impression upon, until recently. Each prison has a chaplain, who is appointed by the State. Some of them are certainly godly men, while others, from the very nature of the case, must necessarily be politicians; for the government is not supposed to be able to determine to any special extent the measure of a man’s spiritual fitness for such a position. There are two persons who, during the last few years, have been specially instrumental, in the hands of God, of opening these prison doors to outside gospel influences. One is Mrs. Ballington Booth, of the American Volunteers, and the other is D. L. Moody, who has so recently passed away. These two workers, with their world-wide reputation as successful gospel workers, carried with them such a weight of influence that they secured an entrance everywhere, and thus broke down to a large extent this “middle wall of partition.” The question is, Shall this golden opportunity be improved of carrying the gospel message to those behind prison bars? In nearly all instances literature that has a denominational flavor about it is more or less rigidly excluded. But there are thousands of men in prison who are thirsting for the simple story of a crucified Saviour, in whose cases, in many instances at least, it was apparently necessary for them to get into prison in order to have sufficient time to meditate about their own soul’s condition. These, having been awakened and stirred by the knowledge of a sin-pardoning Saviour, when the time for their release arrives, will come directly to those who have helped them, as our experience in Chicago has taught us. And that furnishes an excellent opportunity, if God is moving upon them in that direction, to teach them more fully the thrilling truths for this time. Last summer forty-two thousand copies of one issue of the Life Boat were sent out to the prisons in the United States. From the remarkable results that can be traced directly to this number, it certainly seems that this issue must have gone out with the special benediction of heaven to accomplish a work for God. What are some of the results? A chaplain from one of the State prisons writes us: “We are grateful for the copies of the Prisoners’ Number of the Life Boat that we have received. No paper has awakened more interest than the number just distributed. As I passed from cell to cell last Sunday afternoon, I found many of the prisoners standing at the cell door with the Life Boat in their hands, eager to give some expression of appreciation concerning it.” Another chaplain of an Eastern prison writes as follows: “My men throughout the prison were delighted with the paper, and are inquiring from time to time about it.” Here is an extract from a letter written by a prisoner: “Having received from another prisoner one of the priceless little papers called the Life Boat, it has brought me to think of myself and my past life. And I find out that I can be saved, although I am behind prison bars. I know not when I shall get out, and I have not a friend on earth to give me one kind word, or write me a cheering letter. I had given up all hope until I read your little paper. May God bless you for putting it in my way.” The following words were written by one of the oldest prison chaplains in the United States: “No literature has ever entered this prison, which has accomplished what the Life Boat has for the uplifting of the prisoners. The paper has been the means of transforming many desperate men in this prison.” We are glad to say that not one man who has come to us as a direct result of this effort, or who has been paroled from the prisons, has shown himself in any way unworthy of the confidence or help we have extended to him. This is already beginning to disprove the popular notion, “Once a criminal always a criminal.” When the chaplains and wardens of the leading prisons of the United States are calling upon us to issue another similar number, it certainly behoves us not to fold our hands and ignore such a call. So it is planned to devote the March number particularly to the interests of prisons and prisoners, and to try to get out an issue sufficiently large to place one copy in the hands of every prisoner in every State prison in this country. Don’t you suppose that your neighbor might be interested to help along this work? Tell him that five dollars will practically put a copy of this number into the hand of each prisoner in his State. There is one prison alone in which forty men received an inspiration to live a Christian life as a result of the gospel message carried to them through the columns of the Life Boat. I quote from the Prison Missionary the following words: “We can say for this publication [the Life Boat] that we believe that it has done a vast amount of good in this prison. It receives a fair circulation here every month. The prisoners’ edition is most eagerly sought by the inmates. We have known men to ask us to send them the Life Boat when they would reject everything else in the line of religious literature. God bless the Life Boat. We wish that it could be read by many more of the inmates.” The chaplain of one of the leading prisons in the United States came to our training-school in Chicago to meet the editors of the Life Boat, and to express his appreciation of the good work being done through this medium. Among other things, he said: “I like your idea of trying to save humanity. This morning I wish to thank you sincerely for the great work that you are doing all over the United States. Now, that is not an empty compliment. When one stands before thousands of men day after day, and sees how Satan has got hold of them, it is then that some of our theological ideas go up in smoke. Last May, when you issued the Prisoners’ Number of the Life Boat, one of the prisoners under my care came to me, and said: ‘Where can we get more of this kind of literature?’ The prisoners call the names, and talk of those whose life-history and conversion appear in the paper from time to time, and in many ways show their interest and appreciation of the Life Boat. Two months ago we paroled thirteen men, and when they came to my office to sign their parole papers, nine of the thirteen mentioned the special number of the Life Boat, saying that it had given them an impetus to a better life. I like the Life Boat, and think it my duty to give a hearty indorsement to this kind of work.” Dear reader, if we continue to stand in defense of truth and righteousness in the trying times that are before us, have we any assurance that we may not ourselves sooner or later camp in a dismal prison cell? Should the Lord permit such an experience, would it not then add to our joy and satisfaction to know that we had done what we could to bring the good cheer of the gospel into the lives of those who occupied these cells before us?