The congregation at Karns has a very active jail ministry. Twice a month, several men from Karns go to the Knox County jail, which probably houses a couple thousand inmates, and conduct Bible studies.
Recently, one of the men who we had been studying with was released from jail. When one is released from jail, he is not allowed to take anything with him. That includes the Bible Correspondence Course he was taking. This man had such an interest in studying the Bible, that he finished his lesson, wrote his home address on the lesson so that he could continue to study after he was released, and left this lesson with his cell mate and asked him to mail it to us.
This man left the jail, and before his cell mate ever had a chance to mail his lesson to us, he was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.
This young man had every intention of doing further study. He had made arrangements for further study that most people would not have done. Yet, his time on this earth was unexpectedly cut short.
This man’s story could be played over and over again. Same story, just different characters. But here’s what I want you to consider. Forget about jail. That’s just incidental to the storyline. Here was a man whose time on earth ended before he was prepared to meet his God. Could that be you? Could you be delaying your obedience, banking on another day of life?
Why risk your soul by delay when you serve a God who delights in mercy (Micah 7:18)?