When I asked Mrs. Holland when we began contributing cards to "Christmas Behind Bars" she chuckled as she tried to remember. We have been contributing cards for quite a long time, starting after we found out about the ministry at an ASI convention.
So why have we done it for so long? When I asked Mr. Montague he said “I think that it helps us think of those who are not as fortunate as we are: they don’t have, in their present state, the freedom that we have. They probably don't have family and friends writing them. For many of them, their lives are at risk on a day to day basis. No one is thinking about them as often. So for us, it gives the opportunity to think about what they might be going through.”
This action of thinking about those who are incarcerated is a way that we can fulfill the injunction in Matthew chapter 25. It is often very easy to think of following the instructions given indirectly in the parable of the sheep and the goats as pertaining to visiting and helping church members in need, but in reality it is telling us to help all who are in need, that we might be Christ to them."
This Christmas season let us all remember that, all around the world there are those for whom Christ died who are in need. Whether in prison, or homeless on the street, we have but two choices: to be a sheep, or a goat; to be the image of Christ to them, or to leave Christ, as it were, un-remembered. The greatest gift is in giving. Let’s join with God in spreading the news of the gift of His Son.
