"I WAS IN PRISON, AND YE CAME UNTO ME."
By W. S. Sadler
"I WAS in prison, and ye came unto Me." Then they shall answer, "Lord, when saw we Thee . . . in prison, and came unto Thee?" This scripture suggests that many of those who visited Christ in prison had done so unconscious of the significance of their visit. Their ministrations were not confined alone to their brethren who were in prison as the result of persecution for Christ's sake. And on that last great day Christ will say to those on His left hand, "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me." Matt. 25:45. Our fitness for eternity seems to turn on the question of practical benevolence. Those on the right hand are there because they have ministered unto Christ in the person of needy humanity,—because they have visited the Master in prison, in the person of the prisoner. Those on the left hand are there because they failed to do these very things. Very little is being done to help the 100,000 prisoners who are at present occupying cells in the various penal institutions in this country. Is the prisoner entitled to the Gospel? Do we have a duty to perform in giving him an opportunity to see its precious rays? Have we done and are we now doing all we can to enlighten the darkened souls confined behind prison bars? Perhaps a thought like this comes up in the minds of many, "O, well, these people are criminals; they were born criminals!" Again, it may be you believe in the idea of "once a criminal, always a criminal." This is wrong. Crime is not hereditary, altho a certain tendency to lead a criminal life may be transmitted as a legacy from parent to child. Criminals are made, educated, trained; they are not born. Dear reader, let your innocent children be subjected to the same soul-and-mind-destroying influences that pervade the slums of a great city, and it will require but a very brief training to make them thorough-going criminals. It must be borne in mind that criminals are not all illiterate and uncultured. The sons and daughters of highly respectable parents are incarcerated behind the prison bars of almost every jail and prison in this country. Again, many men and women are arrested, convicted, and sentenced, even for long terms, for the most trivial offenses. I know of a man who was sentenced, if I remember correctly, to a term of five years in a State prison for stealing a ten-cent water-melon. I know of another well-meaning man, who is now working in one of our institutions in Chicago, who was sentenced to prison in an adjoining State for four years for taking and pawning a watch worth $1.50, during one of his spells of periodical drunkenness. Thus it will be observed that some are sent to prison for a comparatively small crime in the eyes of the world; while others who defraud and swindle their fellow-men out of thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars, are allowed their freedom. There is a mistaken idea abroad that prisoners are not deserving an effort for the betterment of their condition. There are many souls in prison who will respond to the first effort made to help them. And are the most desperate of criminals not worthy of at least a chance? Did not Christ live and die for them, as well as for the more hopeful cases? Could the reader have the privilege of seeing the many hundreds of letters which we have received as the result of the special Prisoners' number of the Life Boat, issued about a year ago, he would be thoroughly convinced that there are many sincere souls behind prison bars who are longing for light and truth. Let us extend a helping hand of tender sympathy to the prisoner. Take him by the hand, and bid him rise. Shall we take an interest in the prisoner, or shall we leave this great work for others to do? The third angel's message leaves out no class of men or women. Christ said, "I was in prison, and ye visited Me not." One of the things which Christ Himself makes the basis of the final test in the judgment is not too insignificant for us to take hold of. This entire paper might be filled with the encouraging results which have attended our efforts to reach the prisoner, but we can not say more now. My prayer is that you will do all you can to reach out a helping hand to these unfortunate souls. W. S. SADLER.