Recently, I toured Alcatraz.

In case you don’t know, Alcatraz is an island in San Francisco Bay. It is a rocky island that is more than a mile from the breath-taking beauty of San Francisco and its Golden Gate Bridge.

Alcatraz is famous because it was a Federal prison from 1934-1964. It has inspired classic movies including Escape from Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood, and The Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster.

The island is now operated by the National Park Service. I reached it on a ferry that “vibrated” as it powered through choppy waves, despite it being a pleasant, sunny day.

I spent several hours on the island with my son and his girlfriend. We toured the aging, abandoned prison.

As I thought of being locked in a tiny cell for years, I thought of my favorite verse from “And Can It Be?” by Charles Wesley.

Going back to my days at Harvard Law School, I remember how much I loved joining with other members of the Harvard Law School Christian Fellowship, singing triumphantly:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth and followed thee.

Usually, we think of our chains falling off as a 1-time life-changing event. And many people do remember a single, dramatic moment such as the Apostle Paul experienced on the road to Damascus. Paul became a follower of Jesus after “a light from heaven flashed around him.” (Acts 9:3).

But I think it is also good to think about the many aspects of our lives that remain imprisoned as if we are chained in a dark dungeon.

After all, despite his dramatic life-changing experience on the road to Damascus, Paul still had many ways in which he had to grow in wisdom. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

As he put it years later in a letter to the church at Philippi:

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:

Forgetting what lies behind, and straining toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14).

As we press on, if we find an aspect of our life that is still chained and imprisoned in darkness, we should pray to be delivered from evil (Matthew 6:13). We should pray for wisdom how to escape from each “Alcatraz” in our lives. (James 1:4-5).

And we should join with countless followers of the Way of Jesus across the centuries, singing triumphantly:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth and followed thee.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

When have you experienced the feeling that you (or some aspect of your life) is chained and imprisoned in darkness?

What aspects of your life continue to be chained and imprisoned in darkness?

When have you prayed to be delivered from evil and for wisdom how to escape from each “Alcatraz” in your life?

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For more of my thoughts along a similar line, please read my blogs “The Star of Bethlehem Was a ‘Can of Tuna Fish’”, “The Christmas Star: ‘I Saw It in Real Life!’”and “Places of Worship: Praying and Singing Hymns in ‘Prison’”.

For more about how Jesus sets us free from the darkness of imprisonment by each “Alcatraz” in our life, please read my blogs about the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus:  “Overcoming Oceans of Despair”,  “Overcoming Oceans of Hopeless Confusion”, “Overcoming Oceans of Fears”; “Overcoming Oceans of Doubts”, and “Overcoming Oceans of Failures”.