in NEED of a REDEEMER

No. It’s not Throwback Thursday-- but I found another blog that I wrote a few years ago from prison that was never used and I thought it was worth the read.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Man, in his physical state, was not created to be locked up. A human should only spend 9 months at the most in captivity, but even then, we are spiritually dead when we are born into this world—due to sin. If we are automatically born into bondage, shouldn’t we then be used to confinement?Not really, because pride makes us believe that being free is all about our natural state. With the wrong understanding of freedom comes a neglectful and ignorant attitude. We don’t recognize that just by virtue of our natural state (albeit our sinful state), we are in need of a Redeemer!Unfortunately, I have witnessed that there is way more to captivity than the natural man can understand. Physical imprisonment can drive a sane man mad, and it doesn’t take long. He can only survive so long on his own will- power, then eventually his façade begins to break down.  And whatever is left underneath that exterior armor, that defense mechanism, begins to spill out.  It is only then that we figure out that it is the inner layer that matters most.  But what of that inner layer that has been neglected for so long?From the beginning of time, man’s natural and spiritual state were created to be free, until the fall took place in the Garden of Eden. Freedom was given by God Himself, yet man still fell to a tempter.  Paradise was lost by the purest minds to ever grace this earth (excluding Jesus), so what does that say about our potential?What would make any man think he could recover from a fall like that and be able to resist evil on his own?Now consider the dynamics of man being in the unnatural state of captivity and having this same tempter constantly on the prowl.  Eventually, as you rub more and more with turmoil, your true colors will be revealed.  The facade that so many struggle to maintain begins to erode, and what we find left is the skeletons that lie in our closet -- once hidden.I am amongst such a confined environment, the devils melting pot for unstable minds.  I have learned that such an unnatural state for man is detrimental to any rehabilitation or transformation that this time is supposed to develop.  What is supposed to be an incentive for growth in our lives, turns out to be the death of the mental and spiritual state of man all over again; Especially the man who has already given up because of the physical death of being locked up.So many in this environment will have no chance if all they dwell upon is their physical captivity.  That should be the last thing on an inmate’s mind, when their spiritual and mental capacity is what the devil is after.Not only does pride come before a fall, but pride was the fall.  We need our Redeemer and without knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of HIM and what He came to accomplish, we will never rise from the original fall in paradise.  It is our acceptance of a Savior that picks us up to life and back to a Paradise mindset—regardless of where we reside.