As part of our ministry, we write letters to each of the 40+ residents who will be part of the weekend. Most of these men have been inside for years and have received very few, if any, letters from family and loved ones. We do talk about Jesus and what our experience has been following Him, but our biggest goal is just to show them that there are people who love them and are willing to listen to them.
It is amazing to see the transformation in some of these men from the time we meet them on Thursday afternoon to the closing on Sunday afternoon. It's not a result of the actions of the team, either. I truly see it as a chance to have a front row seat to watch the Holy Spirit at work. If you'd like to learn more about Kairos and my experiences, please read my post from November.
As I was writing my letters the other day, I began to feel that I should share some of what I was saying to these men with a wider audience.
God loves each of us as His children and desperately wants to have a relationship with us. He even went as far as to take on human form and live among us - from a birth in a feeding trough to a horrific death via the quintessential form of capital punishment in the Roman Empire.
About 10 years ago, I attended a weekend similar to Kairos, called the Walk to Emmaus. It very much deepened my relationship with Jesus and had a profound effect on my life at a time I really needed it. Until then, I called myself a Christian, but wasn't really living my life for Christ. I'd grown up thinking of God as a stern figure who was just keeping track of all the times I sinned or didn't do what I was supposed to.
However, as we are remember this weekend, Jesus allowed Himself to be brutally killed on the cross as a payment for ALL of our sins. All that we need to do is accept that gift and live our life in a way that demonstrates our love for Him. I pray that everyone reading this will accept God's forgiveness, knowing that the one who created the universe wants to be your friend. That is what Easter is all about.
And if you are a Christian, get connected with a local church, if you aren't yet. The church isn't just a building, a denomination, or an organization. The church is a family made up of all believers. It is also His body on Earth that is to be doing His work. We can't fully follow and serve Christ all on our own.
Happy Easter!
