In our later years, many of us wish we could go back and do things over again. And yet, many of us also realize that each of our paths lead us to exactly where God needs us to be, in order to hear about His great love and forgiveness. For Gennady, it took many years of serving time in prison to realize the severity of his sin. When he did finally reconcile with it, he became a man of faith and repentance.
In March, after a meeting in the zone , an elderly man (72 years of age, to be exact) approached me. His name was Gennady. He began serving time in a Russian prison in 1974. He served 40 years for all his crimes. But that wasn’t all. Gennady still had 6 more years of prison time ahead of him. He said that he started reading the Bible back in the 90s. After being released the first time, he even lived at the House of Prayer. But his passion for alcohol led him astray from the path of truth and he found himself in prison again.
When Gennady was brought to the area where I hold regular meetings, he began coming regularly and did not miss a single meeting. And when we were studying Psalm 31 on repentance, King David’s own experiences reminded Gennady of the severity of his own sin. The Psalm says, “for Your hand weighed on me day and night …” These lines echoed with the severity of Gennady’s sin, and resonated deep inside his soul.
When he came to the barracks after the meeting, he clearly realized the need for repentance. Gennady repented right then and there—with tears and sincerity. Suddenly, Gennady said he felt a lightness in his soul and joy that filled him from the inside. He realized that the Lord had accepted him and forgiven him. Now, Gennady prays at the end of our meetings and always smiles. And the last few times he began to bring new people to our meetings, telling them about Christ. Thank God that in His great love He continues to forgive, even the outcasts who have 40 years of criminal life behind them!
Today, Gennady is filled with joy and wants others to be free of the burdens that so greatly weighed him down. Through his story, we learn that prison is far more than just being behind the bars of a jail cell. Our hearts are also held captive—until we are freed by Jesus Christ, our Savior. It is Jesus who took our sentence—for crimes we committed—and forgave them all upon the cross. For those that trust Jesus… we are free! Please continue to pray for the many men and women who are struggling with the depths of their sin and that they may be set free through the forgiveness of Christ.