Restorative Justice

Charles Colson has become a leading voice within evangelicalism and it took prison to transform him. Through the Watergate scandal and his seven-month stint behind bars Colson came to realize the futility of the prison system and the futility of his own heart apart from Christ his maker. In the mystery of divine providence it took justice to bring about restoration. Colson, now redeemed by Christ, is seeking to also bring redemption and restorative justice to the nation’s prison systems. Adam Cohen, writing today in the NY Times (free account required), argues that his mission began with Watergate. Cohen is more surprised in Colson becoming a “radical prison reformer” than in becoming a conservative Christian. He writes, “Political conservatives have traditionally been more focused on punishing criminals than on reforming them, and religious conservatives have generally felt the same way.” Cohen sees liberal institutions as being at the forefront of prison reform, not conservative evangelical organizations. He quotes Colson to that end, “The evangelical church has some great strengths," Mr. Colson said in an interview, but historically, "concern for the poor and the marginal was not one of them." Cohen correctly highlights two reasons why Colson seeks prison reform. First, it is because Colson is intimately aware of the prison system. He has spent time there and he continues to spend most of his life through ministering within the walls of prisons. Secondly, and more importantly, Colson believes that the driving force behind his reform is the biblical injunction of dealing with offenders through redemption. Only Christ can change an inmate’s heart and transform their life into something meaningful. Colson is right – justice must be restorative. The end of justice is redemption. Yet, sadly as Colson notes, the evangelical church has failed miserably in seeking redemption for offenders, for the needy and the poor. Yet James exhorts us, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (1:27). One of the things I appreciate most about Charles Colson and Prison Fellowship is the Angel Tree project. Every year, around Christmas, they collect gifts for the children of prison inmates. It is a small, but meaningful way of “visiting orphans and widows in their affliction.” Some years ago we took part in the Angel Tree program and even had the opportunity to spend time with those children. We took them to our church gym and ran around with them playing and just having fun. They immediately clung to you, as their need for a father figure was apparent. It brought both joy and sadness to my heart at the same time. Even in this small way – giving gifts to needy children – redemption was worked out in the midst of justice. The cross of our Lord is no different. The justice of God was satisfied as Christ suffered for our sin upon that rugged tree. Yet through his suffering we were granted redemption. It is my hope and prayer that many within the prison system, along with their families, will find redemption in justice. Charles Colson knows well that offenders can be redeemed. Those who meet justice can be restored.