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 "Walk Free" is a phrase uttered by inmates when they are released from prison. For fifteen years I volunteered at a local correction facility, visiting monthly with one inmate at a time. On their release they walk away from a sheltered, structured life and resume life on the outside. I remember one man's release day. I picked him up at the front entrance of the prison and drove him to a halfway house. On the way we stopped by a river, he gazed at the rushing water for several minutes asking, am I really free? And he hugged a large maple tree.
There are several aspects involved with returning to society after an incarceration. One is to move freely about without apprehension, thinking someone is watching you. Another is to make a new life, find a job, and a place to live. And make new friends.
I have been traveling through the book of Psalms for the last year and am now reading the 119th chapter, the longest chapter in the Bible. The 45th verse is one of my long-time favorites. It says we will walk free, for we sought God's truths for living. I understood the verse better when I studied the context. Each section of this psalm starts with one letter of the Hebrew alphabet and is comprised of eight verses.
The 41st verse opens this section with a prayer asking God to let his love shape us, and continues as we stand firm against those who mock us for believing in something unseen. The courage to believe allows us to walk free, with our heads held high. Freedom is found frequently in scripture. In the 8th chapter of the book of John, Jesus said that when we believe He is the Son of God we are in truth, set free.
These are life-principles, and because of the freedom we have in Christ we are compelled to share His life. The 46th verse says that in our life-walk, we boldly share the freedom we have with those around us. When we first learned "witnessing" we encountered resistance. Because the love of God changes our life, others are drawn to what we have. As we delve into the dynamic of this new free life, God displays the fragrance of who He is through us. He does it by shaping His love in us, and we respond by joyously and boldly walking free.
I am a fellow servant,
Gary Kallio
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