Religion: A Pastor Ponders

A Prisoner Writes About Xmas

by Pastor William Jenkins

December 9, 2005

A prisoner in the Tennessee State Penitentiary at Nashville wrote the following. It won first prize in a national writing contest for prisoners. It is worth pondering as we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ.

No creature on earth is more dependent, helpless and vulnerable than a human baby. That God was content to enter human history in this unexpected manner says a lot about Him.

It utterly destroys any idea that God is hostile toward humankind. It’s hard not to love and trust such a powerful being who trusted Himself within the arms of the human family – with one of us.

Even if I weren’t a Christian, I think I would still love the Christmas story. It’s a dramatic shot in the human heart, with magnificent appeal. Somehow, life is less meaningless when we know that the Lord of the universe has walked in our shoes; that He too was an outcast, a stranger in a strange land, betrayed by those He loved, lonely, and at the end a convicted felon, facing death by execution.

I guess it’s a good thing I’m not God. No human being could possibly dream up such a wondrous way to say, “I am with you!”

Just pondering.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org