The Prison Cell That's Never Locked

A cartoon showed a bedraggled and disheveled prisoner probing his open cell door, calling to this gaunt cellmate, “The good news is that the cell door isn’t locked. The bad news is that it never was – there’s not keyhole!”

The truly bad news is that countless people imprison themselves for years at a time in their self-induced guilt, and the “worse” news is that they don’t realize the “good” news that the Lord has provided an easy escape plan.

Why would anyone choose to live in a prison cell when not forced to? Or wallow in the sludge of oppressive, negative feelings of guilt when a simple cleansing of the filth is almost absurdly easy to reach? Imagine a person so dysfunctional that he shuts himself up in a dark, stuffy cave and closes the entrance so tightly that not the slightest ray of sunlight can penetrate the darkness. Would anyone blame the sun for that situation? A normal person would want to exclaim, “Open the entrance of your cave and let in some sunlight! Better still, come outside and enjoy basking in the brilliant warmth of this beautiful day!”

The good news is God’s gift offered to every despondent heart: “In your presence there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). Our heavenly father, in his indescribable divine love, can hardly wait to “forgive us our trespasses.” The Holy Spirit inspired the prophet Micah to articulate this amazing truth as a question that contrasts our God with pagan gods; “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression?” (Micah 7:18).

God’s loving mercy overrides his righteous indignation at the horrendous evil of sin (which is an act of insulting the Creator of the universe). When the sinner takes the tiniest step toward his waiting open arms, God embraces him with the warmest affection. Truly God’s tenderness and love total far more than all the human love added up from the beginning of human existence in Earth.

Few will deny that God’s wisdom and power are infinite – although no one can really grasp them. But God’s infinity mercy is a concept that many prisoners of their own guilt find hard to appreciate. As Paul says, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel” (2 Corinthians 4:4). They can’t accept the simple procedure required for eternal salvation: “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19).

The self-imprisoned may be unaware of the “no-keyhole door.” In fact, any sinner’s “cell” has a number of unlocked doors to afford him or her escape from the confinement of sin. The Bible speaks of six such portals of God’s mercy – three of which are sacraments. But implied for each one is the prerequisite of a repentant heart.

This excerpt is from the book The Awesome Mercy of God, by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Books. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.