The Walls
You wake up after a good nights sleep. As is the case when you've been in a deep sleep, just for a moment, you don't remember where you are. As you look across the small room, you see a ladder-like shadow on the floor in front of your bed. Then you remember where you are. The ladder-like shadows are the prison bars in the window above your bed. The small room where you are staying is a prison cell. A slight wave of panic tries to surface in your mind, but then you remember that this is home. This is where you have been all your life, and for some reason, you actually enjoy living here. "There it is," you think to yourself, as the other prisoners start clanging their metal mugs against the steel bars along the front sections of their cells. "Time for breakfast," you mutter to yourself as you splash cold water onto your face. The automated steel doors bang throughout the prison as they open up all the cells. Prisoners walk toward the mess area carrying their tin trays and eating utensils. The mood among the inmates is no different today than it was yesterday, or the day before. Just the usual.

As you sit eating, you remember how often you take time by yourself to find out more about this prison. Somehow you came to the realization that this prison was different to regular prisons. Firstly, most of the inmates enjoyed doing time here. No-one was really trying to get out. Then one day as you were walking around in your free time, you found out that there were many, many more cell blocks in this prison than there was in any other normal prison. Apart from the usual cell blocks where the hard criminals were kept--the murderers, the rapists, the thieves, the child-abusers, and the drug dealers--there were blocks for people you never dreamt could be there. There were cell blocks for liers, for cheaters, and for gossipers. There were also cell blocks for people with a temper, for people who used foul language, and for people who were addicts. The difference with these addicts was that there were cell blocks, not only for those addicted to tobacco, alcohol, and strong drugs, but for those addicted to television, food, work, shopping, and even sport. Wow! "Today I'm going to take another look around at this prison," you thought to yourself and you finished up your meal.

After performing all the mandatory tasks that you were required to do for the day, you take a stroll down to the far end of the prison compound. There you saw something that really shocked you. A complex of cell blocks with this title on the name-board, "Religious / Churchgoers." Now you knew that there was something eerie about this prison. It surely wasn't one of the regular government institutions. The law of the land does not incarcerate people for misdemeanors the way this prison does. The cell blocks within the Religious / Churchgoers complex had the most amazing subsections. There were cell blocks for the proud, for the critical and for the judgmental. There were cell blocks for those with impure thoughts, for those with wrong motives and also for those who were trying save themselves by their good deeds. There was even a special section for pastors, elders and church leaders. The next complex of cell blocks you saw was entitled, "Unseen Stressors." This really got your attention. Within this complex their were cell blocks for those who lived in fear--fear of death, fear of the future, and fear of old age. There was also a cell block for those who worried about everything, a cell block for those who were constantly in debt, and a cell block for those who were constantly depressed and negative. Could this be? How could people be held in captivity who hadn't committed blatant crimes? Why would people who were trying to do good, also held within these walls? Could so many people in our societies be sentenced to a term in prison? Perplexed and bewildered you made your way back to mix with the rest of the inmates in the quad.

The Warden
The inmates are relaxing in their time off. Some are playing ball in the one corner of the quad, others are pushing weights, but most are just standing around smoking and chatting. Suddenly there is a vehicle honking at the gate. Guards approach it to check their authority to enter the grounds. You see that it's only a laundry vehicle. One of the inmates standing close to you whispers, "These are people from the outside working undercover to get us out of here."

"Are you serious?" you reply, "How do they keep from getting caught out?"

"They go in to get the laundry, then one of them changes into prison uniform and sneaks out here to the quad to speak to us," he replied.

Just as your fellow inmate had said, a man you had never seen in the prison before came walking out of one of the cell blocks toward the quad.

"Are you coming to listen to him?" he asked.

"Yes, I wouldn't miss it for the world," you replied excitedly.

As you walked toward the man, you noticed that not too many of the inmates were interested in hearing how to get out of the prison. You shake your head in unbelief. The man from the outside started speaking in a low, determined voice, "Prisoners, you are not meant to be in here. You are all falsely accused and 'set up' by the Wicked Warden that is in charge of this place. The Wicked Warden hates all people and works at getting them all into his prison for whatever reason! Have you ever seen a prison with so many types of offenders? He knows that people have weak points and by constantly getting people to fall on their weakest points, he eventually gets them imprisoned through their weaknesses.

The Wicked Warden doesn't operate under same rules as the government does. No, he works by his own rules--rules in his favor so he can imprison people at any instance. Although he is far more powerful than any person on the street, he still traps people at their weakest point. Although he is far more powerful than any person, he still attacks them while they're asleep, he takes advantage of their shortfalls from childhood, and abuses their feelings of guilt, inadequacy, and worthlessness. The Wicked Warden is so cowardly that he hides while trying to trap people into his prison. He accosts the elderly, apprehends small children, and even harasses the sick and dying. Listen to this quote:
 

E. White, "The Desire of Ages," page 121
Thus the Wicked Warden (Satan) has taken advantage of the weakness of humanity. And he will still work in the same way. Whenever one is encompassed with clouds, perplexed by circumstances, or afflicted by poverty or distress, the Wicked Warden (Satan) is at hand to tempt and annoy. He attacks our weak points of character. He seeks to shake our confidence in God, who suffers such a condition of things to exist. We are tempted to distrust God, to question His love. Often the tempter comes to us as he came to Christ, arraying before us our weaknesses and infirmities. He hope to discourage the soul, and to break our hold on God. Then he is sure of his prey. If we would meet him as Jesus did, we should escape many a defeat. By parleying with the enemy, we give him an advantage.

"Did you know that many years ago, the Attorney General sent his son to this prison to take the sentence of every prisoner on himself? Yes! The Attorney General set all prisoners free when his son took the sentences of every prison on himself. My friends, there is a life on the outside for you, all you need to do is accept the price paid for you many years ago. You can be free to leave this place. The gates have been unlocked and are open for you to leave. Come out today. If you don't have the strength to leave, send a message to the Attorney General and tell him that you are helpless in getting out by yourself and that you need him to get you out of your life sentence. Today I am leaving an escape manual here with you that explains clearly how to get out of this prison. Take turns and read all of it, and you can come and live on the outside, free from the confines of these wall where you are captive."

After an hour of speaking to the inmates, the man from the outside leaves. You walk back to your cell and think about what he has said. You cannot believe that you could be out of this prison if you really, really wanted to. You think about the cell block that you are in. You shamefully admit that you enjoy your time in your cell block, but deep down inside you know that you are restless--you just can't find the lasting happiness you've been looking for all your life.

The Word Inside
For anyone who has been in prison, they'll know that it's important to know what's the word on the inside--the word amongst the inmates. As you get to breakfast the next morning, you hear the chatter among the inmates. They're all talking about the visitor from the outside. Some scoff and say that's it a bunch of garbage, others say it's worthwhile checking things out, and a select few have really taken it seriously. Some inmates admit how they have been captives in this prison all their lives and how they have battled to get out, but their attempts were in vain. They tell how they have been bound by an obsession for popularity and position, others tell how they have been caught in the grip of an addiction to impure images and thoughts, others tell how they have been locked into fear and worry about death and the future. Now, even those who scoffed at the man from the outside start admitting what has kept them chained up in this prison. With heads bowed in shame, each person tells of their particular sentence--a temper, anger, dishonesty, pride, overeating, selfishness, lust, and the list went on and on. Others aren't sentenced by some sin or weakness, but through ignorance regarding their health, or spiritual truth. Your own mind reflects on the reason that you are chained in--you don't want to mention it to those at the table. You think of the small chances you have turned down to get out, but the ease and comfort in the prison had blinded your discretion to make a definite decision. Somehow, your life has been paralyzed by an unseen force that you can't really put your finger on. "Could the Warden have powers in the spirit world too?" you think to yourself. You just couldn't explain the numb indifference you have been feeling throughout your life between these walls.

"Who has the escape manual?" you ask.

"Here, I have it," the inmate at the end of the table answers.

"Could I spend a few hours with it?" you ask.

"Yes, but bring it straight back," was his reply.

The manual is shuffled carefully under the table to where you are sitting. You slip it under your shirt, and make your way back to your cell. Placing it carefully under your mattress, you head off to do your duties for the day. As you work, you offer a silent prayer, asking God to give you the insight to finally break free.
 

The Way Out
There's no time to waste. When your work commitments are over, you hurry back to your cell. There you secretly uncover the escape manual and eagerly open up the front cover. On the inside of the cover, the man from the outside wrote out this passage: "The Mission of the Attorney General's Son:"

Isaiah 61:1
'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners.'

Right beneath this awesome passage you read the following instructions: "Read the story of the Attorney General's son, written by a man on the outside called John." Your shaking fingers fumble through the pages to the book written by John. You start reading. Awe and reverence grip you as you read. You can't believe that someone would come and give their life for people that were indifferent to his cause and not really focused on escaping to the outside. When you come to chapter eight and verse thirty one you stop. Suddenly the conviction of the escape becomes as clear as the midday sun to you:

John 8:31, 32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold onto my teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

James 4:7, 8
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Your mind is made up. You are tired of living in a confined cell, being restrained in the way you live and not being able to reach your full potential as a person. You are leaving. You want a life of freedom on the outside. You want to break away from the clutches of the Wicked Warden and live in a fair and free society. As you prepare for supper, you hide the escape manual under your shirt and carry it back to the inmate who let you read it. As you eat around the table you tell of the incredibly good news regarding the unlocked doors and the freedom on the outside. I take the manual from you and tell of the miracle that has taken place in my life since I read it. I tell of my plans to walk out of the prison too, but that I am lingering just a little longer in order to spread the word about life on the outside.

The Witness
Here's my story. I was born into a deeply spiritual home where both my father and mother loved God. As a matter of fact, my father was a minister of the gospel, and so was my grandfather. From a young age I was taught bible stories and learnt how to pray. At the age of four, our home was shattered by a tragedy--my father was killed in a fatal accident. My distraught mother had to pick up the pieces, go back to work, and cope with raising two small children--my sister, a baby, eighteen months old. I remember my mother having family worships with the two of us, but because she had to work, I spent a lot of time with friends in the neighborhood. Sadly, a lot of what was done was where Satan--the Wicked Warden--started weaving his cowardly web around me, locking me into his prison. One strand of a web is very weak, but as the strands add up, they become stronger and stronger. I guess the lack of a stable home made me very susceptible to the influences of those around me, and so I began experimenting with things that would later become heavy duty chains that bound me and made me a captive, unable to break loose---they developed into deep seated habits that I could not overcome. Over a long period of time, I realized I was in prison, and there was nothing I could do to get out. In addition to these weaknesses in my life, I furthered my attempts to satisfy myself by becoming addicted to participating in, and watching sport. It became an obsession to me. There was more. As I moved in more and more secular circles, I got caught by going out to places of entertainment and socializing. This became my main goal in life--meeting people, and being the main socialite in my group. As this part of my life developed, I started becoming obsessed with Easy-Rider motorcycles, especially the Harley Davidson. I'd buy magazines, books, posters, T-shirts and caps that had something to do with Harley Davidson. The further I went along with this life, the more I wanted to satisfy myself. "I" was the center of everything, and everyone else became stepping stones to get to where I wanted to.

Then it happened. The final step I took to get to satisfy myself, was to "trade in" my current girlfriend for a better looking one. I made the move, broke up with her, and started seeing the one that was waiting in the wings. Well, the one that was waiting in the wings I found wasn't near as good as the girl I had been dating. So in a huff, I tried to go back to the first girl. It was too late. I had hurt her too much and she had made the decision to move on with her life. My whole world came crashing down. This was when I called the only friend I knew would be there for me. In the midst of all the selfish and self-centered attempts to get more and more, I suddenly lost something that was more precious to me than I realized. My heart was broken. I was so devastated that I longed for death rather than deal with the finality of this loss. Needless to say, my dear friend got in his car and drove 6 hours to come and see me. After speaking for hours about life, and the love I lost, he shared a study with me from the bible that showed me how "the truth sets us free." He showed me that Satan will use all the wonderful gifts God gives us to trap us and tie us down. He showed me that God works through His word to bring us into an intimate friendship with Himself and to a greater knowledge of who His is. As we spend time alone with God, we become more like Him, we lose our obsession to please self, and begin seeing the miracle of serving others and being the least. The philosophy of serving others that God teaches brings real happiness, whereas Satan's philosophy of satisfying self never brings lasting happiness. Satisfying self is a prison that ties us down and stops us from growing to be like God and developing to our maximum potential. We see how forgiveness is the key to successful relationships, and we learn to fight the true enemy, instead of fighting who we think our enemies are. Since that day, when I stood at the crossroads between choosing death or the new truth I had been shown, I have been studying God's word everyday. Bit by bit, I have been growing in my knowledge of God, recognizing Him as the Supreme Creator and Controller of the Universe. This knowledge has enabled me to see how Satan has used any, and every means to imprison and enslaved me by my weaknesses.

At the time I could not see what he was doing in my life, but now, as my eyes been endowed with more spiritual insight, I could see how he infiltrated every possible area of my life. In my intimate associations with people, I was trapped into being critical of them and always wanting my way; in my spiritual life I was bound by guilt because I couldn't measure up to the standards that the church taught me; in my social life I got very attached to my friends, and would compromise on many things I knew was wrong, in order to keep those friendships; I would be tied down to my desires to buy more and more things--I loved music, stereo equipment, computers and other electronic gadgets; I got addicted to watching movies--very often one's that Satan used to fasten his hold on me even tighter. I allowed my selfish desires to override my better judgment, and I went many of thousands of dollars into debt--another prison that I never knew existed. Month after month I would have to plough my whole salary into bills in order to cope with paying back these massive amounts of money. While I was moving in the social circles, I compromised my health by eating and drinking unhealthy substances, and staying up late at night. During the day I was exhausted and sluggish due to the punishment I inflicted on my body--another unseen prison that had me captive.
 

The Walk to Freedom
Your eyes overflow with tears. The events of the past two days have completely overwhelmed you. You cannot believe how your eyes have been opened to the unseen conspiracy against you. You cannot believe how you have been trapped by simple, unseen, circumstances---one's that have became super powers in holding you hostage here. You reach over and embrace me. Our common bond unites with special meaning and purpose.

"I'm walking away from these walls today," you say as you wipe the warm tears from your wearied eyes.

"I'm walking too," I said, "My time here is done."

We head for the door. I slip the Escape Manual to the inmate closest to me.

"Read this my brother, and spread the word around." I said, "We'll be back with the laundry van to tell you more about life on the outside."

The guards glance at us, but offer no resistance as we walk by them to the gates leading out of the prison walls. They know we have found the truth. Other inmates stare in disbelief, but carry on with whatever they were doing. As we walk through the last of the large security gates and step onto the prison threshold, we look into each other's eyes, knowing that the next step we will be taking will be to the outside. The feeling is overwhelming. True unrestricted freedom is a wonderful thing. In spite of the enjoyment we experienced in the confines of our cell blocks, there was never this rich and rewarding feeling of being in control. Somehow, no activity or practice on the inside could outweigh the fulfillment of being free. Somehow, the enjoyment of participating in the activities and practices on the inside were overshadowed by a restlessness that came from being a prisoner to those practices. The human spirit was created to be free to grow and soar beyond the restrictions and limitations forced on it by the Wicked Warden. God, the Attorney General, wanted people to be able to reach for nobler and purer realms of existence--the Wicked Warden worked through his wicked schemes to cripple and dwarf people from reaching beyond his evil enterprises. As we stepped off the prison threshold, we started running. The aches in our legs from living in the confines of those walls were overpowered by the thrill of finally being free.
 

E. White, "Desire of Ages," p. 466
"Every soul that refuses to give himself to God is under the control of another power. He is not his own. He may talk of freedom, but his is in the most abject slavery. He is not allowed to see the beauty of truth, for his mind is under the control of Satan. While he flatters himself that he is following the dictates of his own judgment, he obeys the will of the prince of darkness. Christ came to break the shackles of sin-slavery from the soul. "If the Son there shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." . . . In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom . . . we have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God. The only condition upon which the freedom of man is possible is the of becoming one with Christ. "The truth shall make you free;" and Christ is the truth.

[HOME]

[BACK TO MORE INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLES]

[BACK TO EMERGENCY ROOM]