Author: Gina Moore

Once an English teacher, always an English teacher. For 24 years I shared my love for words with hundreds of students in the classroom, so it won’t surprise you that I still take every opportunity that I can to dissect the language of Scripture as I prepare lessons for our Bible studies with juvenile offenders. A parable that has resonated with the kids through the years is in Matthew 18:23-35, the parable of the unmerciful servant, which perfectly illustrates a word study of four words that I assumed would be very familiar to these kids: JUSTICE, JUDGMENT, MERCY, and GRACE, all concepts in this parable. What I didn’t know was the profound lesson God would teach me in the process of my teaching them.

Each of the youth at the party is given a card with the four words on them and asked which they hope to receive from others (especially their judge) and then which they tend to give most often to others. The most popular answer for what they give to others is usually JUSTICE or JUDGMENT, but the one they want most to receive is usually MERCY, which leads beautifully into the parable. As we discuss the meanings of all the words, it becomes obvious that what they want is simply a lighter sentence than their deeds deserve. Even when I explain that GRACE would equate with a full pardon and give them a clean slate, some still choose MERCY instead. For years I have struggled to understand why some of them would choose a lighter sentence over a full pardon.

Then recently Beth Rast, Ellen Fleming, and I were doing a birthday Bible study at one of the facilities, and we were using this word study. One of the young men was brutally honest in which one he would like to receive and why.

“I want MERCY,” he said. “I don’t deserve GRACE.”

Then it hit me: They come from a world where JUDGMENT usually prevails, so JUSTICE and MERCY are their best-case scenarios. Full pardon? Not even on their radar.

In their minds a lighter sentence is the best they can hope for.

I talked with the young man later and explained that GRACE by definition is something we don’t deserve. God wants them to grasp that there is something else out there—His amazing GRACE to provide a full pardon and a clean slate. That message is the very language of hope and Crosswalk’s proclamation of freedom to captive hearts. Thank you for your support of this work!

The harvest is many, but the workers are few. If you have any desire to serve alongside us in the DJJ facilities, please complete a volunteer application form or email us at [email protected].