Darkness to Light

In Hebrews 12, the author discusses how Biblical truth can overcome bitterness and the expectation
of how we can see the teachings of Scripture repair relationships. We can read:
12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,
13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled...

We are instructed to "pursue peace;" that true, lasting peace which comes about through a relationship with Christ.  The power of God and our practice of holiness can repair the way we relate to other people and can remove anger and bitterness that can keep us separated and make us enemies.  We can reflect the reconciliation that is possible through Christ, and His inward work can totally transform our outward behavior and attitudes we possess toward others that are not pleasing to Him.

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The power of the gospel brings reconciliation - we were once apart from Christ, but we have been brought into a relationship with Him, setting off a powerful reaction.  For instance, Paul describes the union of Jew and Gentile in Ephesians chapter 2:
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

A while back, I shared about a unique church plant - Gateway Church in Dallas has established a work in a prison, Coffield Prison, and an incredible story of God's grace and power has emerged, found on the ChristianHeadlines.com website.

Five men, said to be active gang members and members of rival factions, were, “escorted into the gymnasium, each one shackled hand and foot and around the waist, and escorted by a guard...," according to the article.  Now, keep in mind at Coffield, there are some 4,000 prisoners who are considered, "extremely dangerous," in the language of the article; some are kept apart from other people for 23 hours per day.  Not a friendly neighborhood here.

So, you have these gang members who are escorted into the gym with heavy security.  Each of them ascends into a large tank of water.  The article says:

Yesterday at our Coffield campus, we were able to do something that no church has ever been able to do in the history of this prison,” said Niles Holsinger, Gateway Coffield Prison campus pastor, in a Facebook video. “And that is water baptize men from what's called administrative segregation, a section of the prison that has the most violent felons, violent inmates of the whole prison.”

Holsinger also said: "And not only were they making a decision to be baptized and to commit their lives to Christ, they knew that this decision meant, to some of them, certain death. They walked out past men who, when they were walking back, soaking wet, dripping with water because the decision, were going to mark them for death.” He said that they “professed the same Lord and were baptized in the same water and they walked out together in a line, guards not holding onto their arms anymore because God had done something in their life.”

The article quotes one of the gang members: "I have tried it my way my whole life and it’s gotten me here," one of the prisoners explained to the campus pastor, according to Fox News. He added, "I want to try it God’s way…we’re going to come out of the water as new men."

Christian Headlines described the shift in atmosphere from "hostile to spirit-filled," saying there was "joy and freedom" there in this instance.

Well, something that we can definitely consider is the power of spiritual change.  God's presence can certainly have an impact on people.  We know that the indwelling power of Christ can clean us on the inside and our behavior, our attitude, our outlook, can be permanently altered.

Baptism signifies what occurs when a person gives his or her life to Christ - the old has died, the new has come; we have been raised with Christ.  And, baptism can be a powerful proclamation - in this setting, the outward expression of an inward work, as witnessed, set off a spiritual reaction.

We can also see the power of reconciliation through the cross.  Through salvation, we are reconciled to God, and relationships can be healed.  Gang members who were rivals, enemies, are now one in Christ.