Unlimited Transformation

Let me tell you about a transformative reality. I was in Chino Men’s Prison this Saturday ministering with a small group of men to the prisoners there. I was engaged in a conversation with a man, let’s call him “Henry,” who told me he had just become a Christian forty days ago. Once I told him about this man’s new experience, a dear Christian brother joined me in conversation with Henry. It was easy to see on this man’s face that something deeply significant had happened to him.

In conversation Henry indicated he had led a very dark life, and his convict friend sitting with us acknowledged Henry’s claim with a look and a nod indicating, “You wouldn’t believe it.” Henry said he had spent some twenty years in prison, you guess his crimes. He said his evil life was shown all over his body. I asked him to show us what he was talking about. Well after asking if we were sure, he pulled up his pant leg and then his shirt to reveal tattoos that I don’t think would be appropriate to fully describe. He also had a very large gash in his abdomen from a knifing. I felt dirty after seeing these “tats” and that Christ had been so deeply dishonored. What pain this man must have felt over his life and how much pain he must have inflicted on others.

By the story of these well thought out and inked “tats,” it was clear that Henry had been a white supremacist and hated God and humanity with a fervor that would frighten the most hardened person. Their sexually explicit nature is too offensive for me to describe. Well this man has been changed. I have witnessed it. When a man with swastikas and pentagrams all over his body can sit next to a black man and sing songs to God with a room full of men from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and competing gangs, you can know that God’s promises are true and that people can change as they are transformed by the redeeming power of Christ. Henry’s raised hands in praise, his big hugs, and firm hand spoke louder than the wicked depictions on his body.

Please pray with me, as my Christian brother and I have already begun, that Henry will be a mighty witness for god. Keep Henry and all the other men of Chino Prison in your prayers. It is God’s expectation (Matthew 25: 36-40) and practically speaking such transformation puts men on the streets that are less likely to violate your hoped for peace.

Darryl Wooldridge, February 2009