The congregation in my prison’s chapel is culturally and denominationally diverse. For all our differences, we do have several things in common besides a uniform. We serve one Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6), and we all once lived like “the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world” (4:13b).
God’s Word teaches prodigal grace: no matter who someone is or what he or she may have done, God welcomes “scum” and transforms us into His sons and daughters! This lavishly extravagant love is for all who trade their sin for Jesus’ righteousness. It is illustrated in the life of Rahab “the prostitute.”
Confident in their defenses, Jericho defied the Lord, but Rahab believed that those who surrendered would be saved. When she herself saved Israel’s spies, her faith was completed (James 2:25-26), and she and her family were indeed preserved (Joshua 6:15-25). She was welcomed among God’s people, so that her descendants include a line of kings (Matthew 1:1-16), from David to Jesus Christ. If Rahab was welcomed into Jesus’ family, you and I are too!