FREE!!!!

From behind the prison walls life seemed so content. A daily routine, a place where you were told what to do by the world. It was all you knew. You were blind to the ourtside world. The light was too bright for you to handle, blinding in fact. So you hid, trying to stay in the darkness. Seeing people die everyday became normal to you. More and more people joined you there so you were never alone. Even the "outsiders" had gone to visit you, though you never really heard what it was they had to say. You didn't really care in fact. It was just a bunch of mumbling anyway, for your ears were not open to hear them. You only listened to those amomgst you. Those in the same boat as you cause only they made any sense. You became so immune to your life that you no longer noticed that chains tied around your feet. Taking baby steps, if any stops at all became a way of life. No point in trying to take bigger steps; you weren't going anywhere anytime soon. Especially since you were carring so much baggage. No one was going to help you carry that around. They had their own as well. You were on your own. Although, over time...you got tired of carrying around all that baggage. All the baggage of your past, and your present were begining to wear you down. Not to mention how much the future would hand over to you. If only you had another choice, another road to take. But...that meant you had to change your life...make better choices. Forgiveness had to be given unto those who have done wrong. And surrendering everything had to happen in order to begin anew. You didn't want change...but at the same time...you no longer wanted that baggage. So...you still sat behind your prison walls and watched more and more people die day in and day out. The "outisders" kept coming to visit...but still their words were just mumbling. As much as you wanted to know what they had to say...you just couldn't seem to understand. You listened and concentrated...but got nothing. They began to come around more often. Often you would sit and wonder if they had anything to offer...or if they were just taking up your time. Time you could have used to regret your life. To condemn those who have hurt you. Time that could have been used to add to your chains, as if the ones you had didn't tie you down enough. Could it be that those "outsiders" were just trying to get you out of those chains?? Could they be coming around to show you that there is more to life then just sitting behind prison walls, letting the world tell you what to do?? The next time they came around you decided to actually try and listen to what it was they had to say. There must have been something they needed to share...or else why did they keep coming around?? So, you listened. You gave them your full attention...setting all things aside. They told you that you didn't have to go on living the way you were. They told you that you were loved...and had so much more to live for. But you seemed to not understand. If there was more to life than what you had...why didn't you have it already??? And if someone loved you so much...why wouldn't they just show you already??? They went on saying that some guy whom you didn't even know died for you on a cross?? And that all you had to do was believe in Him to have eternal life. How could that be?? You didn't believe them. No one would die for you. At least you thought. And how could you believe something you never saw?? After they were done sharing with you they left and didn't come back for a period of time. Yet, you never forgot what they had told you. In fact...you couldn't stop thinking about it. "If what they said was true...then why not give it a try?" you thought. There is no hurt in trying, or so you've been told. So the next time they came around you told them that you would give this guy a shot. It was then you found out that His name is Jesus Christ. They lead you through the sinners prayer, yet you didn't expect anything spectacular to happen. But, as you said this prayer your chains began to fall off. You went to grab them to put them back on, but the "outsiders" wouldn't let you. They told you that you would no longer be needing them. That you will no longer be living with chains or behind prison walls. Before you knew it...your baggage was gone as well. Not knowing where it had gone you grew quite excited that it had disappeared. So excited in fact that you began to jump up and down, singing and dancing and giving praise to God whom you just met and gave your life to. If this is what happens when you first meet Him...you wondered...what else could happen after had known Him for a long time. You had decided that this is the life you wanted to live. You stood firm in your decision, and before you knew it...the prison walls were gone, and there was light. But this time it was not blinding, it was quite pleasing and brought you joy. A joy you have never felt before. It was then you realized you had been set free!!! No more chains, no more baggage. You were a new person. And from that day on things were never the same again. YOU were never the same again. That's all because you were born-again and made new. You then became part of the "outsiders", the believers, and decided it was your turn to begin to share the Good News of Jesus to those stuck behind those prison walls as you once were!!!!!!