Prison Break

The tide was too low to surf – channel surf that is. No cable or satellite, the “rabbit ears” were broken, and the tuner built into the television was experiencing some sort of technical difficulty. With the limited selection of available T.V. programming, I was channel wading. A potential ocean of a thousand channels was reduced to six or seven, over half of which were foreign language stations. By circumstance, my old habit of scrolling rapidly up, down and through the channels turned into click, pick, and stick. Three programs vied for my attention.

The first was a show where everyday people stood in long lines holding or towing strange objects from their basements, attics, or garages. They congregated at a convention center hoping and believing they had found or received something of great worth. The traveling memorabilia and antiquity experts at the end of each line would either confirm that they indeed possessed something of great value, or they would crush their dreams – politely. I’m sorry, sir, but this document you found stuck to the bottom of your porcelain dolphin is not an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, but an unpaid tax bill for your property. The man groans, the expert apologizes awkwardly, and then jazz music begins to play as the show segways to another hopeful treasure seeker.

After I checked to make sure I had paid my property taxes, I clicked to another station. The second show was a series of over-the-top physical and mental challenges. Contestants needed to walk into burning buildings, eat bugs, dress-up piranhas in “Barbie” clothes, and watch endless hours of political campaign commercials - the visual equivalent to “water boarding.” The last one standing of the six contestants was declared the champion and given a monetary award. It was just enough cash to pay for the medical attention the winner required at the finish line. What a tough way to earn a buck. Click.

The third show was an action drama, where a younger brother commits a crime so he can be imprisoned along with his older brother. This was done for the sole purpose of breaking the older, innocent and unjustly convicted brother out of prison. That seemed exciting until he enlisted the help of his fellow inmates to help in the prison break. The show lost me there. I just couldn’t get behind the idea of criminals escaping from prison no matter how daring, intriguing, or creative it would be. It seemed a bit perverse to cheer for that.

Put the remote down if you have one, because what I’m about to tell you might cause you to “change channels.” I celebrated the escape of some family members from prison on two occasions this past summer, and again a week or so ago. I cheered for them, cried with them, and shared their joy. I’m glad they got “busted out.” Relax. It’s not what you might be thinking, so put the phone down too. Law enforcement doesn’t need to get involved. What I’m talking about is a baptism service. Now, it seems like a stretch to compare a baptism service to celebrating a prison break, but it’s really not a stretch at all. In Luke 4:18 Jesus read a passage from the Book of Isaiah (chap. 61:1-2). He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives (prisoners) will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Then Jesus said, “This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!” Jesus left heaven, took the humble form of a human prisoner, and died to break us out of prison (See Phil. 2:6-8). When we believe that, He wants us to let the world know.

Through baptism, believers make a wonderful public statement that we have indeed found and received something of great value. We announce that we have been saved by the unmerited and unearned favor of God through faith, and that by Christ’s sacrifice our sins have been forgiven. We let the world know that we’ve been rescued from the clutches our old master, the one who rules the kingdom of darkness. We tell everyone that we are a part of the world’s greatest prison break, Jesus broke us out, and we have been pardoned. We proclaim that we have died with Christ, and will rise with Him. We declare that we are now a son or daughter of the living God and have citizenship in heaven. We declare that we are different, new, and free. We declare that we are dependent on God! With all that said, it would be perverse not to cheer for all of that. I hope you think so too.

Grace to you.

Dave Paukner