Quote Romans 6:23!

Larry, the "quizmaster," was seated  facing three teams of three men each.  The men, all dressed in navy blue uniforms and beige rubber sandals, sat lightly at the edge of their seats waiting for Larry to ask his questions.   He could ask anything from Romans chapter 6 and as soon as a man thought he knew the answer, he would jump to his feet.  If  he was, indeed, the first man up (based on the agreement of the judges), then that man would have 30 seconds to give his answer.  As you all know, chapter 6 has 23 verses, so in order to do well in this competition, the men had to know them ALL.  Each quiz consisted of 20 questions that had to be answered word perfectly.

At question #10, substitutes were allowed to come in to the quiz so that all the men who had studied would have a chance to play. The teams were picked by numbers so that no one would have an unfair advantage by choice.  As it so happened, every team had at least one man who had spent his life in learning disability classes and had dropped out of school.  When all the questions were asked and the dust had settled,  team number 2 had won both of the quizzes played that Wednesday evening.  Barely.  In fact, out of the fifteen participants, 13 answered questions correctly.    Teams 1 and 3 lost by only one or two questions.  In the end, winning or losing didn't matter, because a great time was had by all!  No one would have ever guessed we were at a jail and not a Bible college.

The LORD blessed our first-ever Bible quiz meet in ways that are difficult to describe.  First, the men were challenged to spend their time memorizing the word of God and fifteen of them did!  Second, as Larry and Susan practiced with them, they started developing a spirit of brotherhood that rarely exists in churches, let alone a jail filled with angry, lonely men facing time for anything from drug possession or selling to theft and domestic violence.  Third, as the men answered the questions correctly to the applause and spirited cheering of the other inmates, they began feeling good about themselves for the first time in years (perhaps for as long as they can remember.)  Finally, there was a room full of men, forgetting they were in jail, having a great time!   

One young man, barely 18 and tiny enough to be 13, spent years in special education.  Reading at about a third grade level, it is no wonder he dropped out of school and got into trouble--alot.  Encouraged by the other men to try Bible quizzing, he studied and studied and studied.  At practices, he lacked confidence until finally he got one question right to the back-thumping "way-to-go's" that only a group of men can give.  That motivated him for the next practice.  He started jumping up competitively....even when it came to quoting......Romans 6:23.  (You need to know that whenever Larry gave a quote question, everyone would sit still and let the timer go rather than chance messing up a word or two and getting a wrong answer.)  But, the score was tied and it was question 20.  There it was.  The quote question.  Little Johnny leaped to his feet.  Everyone looked at him in stunned silence.  Of course this was too hard, especially for someone like Johnny. The other team started rubbing their hands together, anticipating the thrill of victory.

But wait!  Johnny began to speak.  "For the wages of sin is death, but........" here John faltered a bit unsure.  The men were encouraging him.  "Come on Johnny, you can do it!  Remember what we studied."  Johnny was suddenly more important than the score.  Everyone leaned forward, willing him to continue.     Then he rushed on..."but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Johnny's team had won--but Johnny had won even more.

"ALRIGHT!   YEAH!   WAY TO GO!   "WOOO-EE"  "YES, GIMME FIVE, BRO!"  We all made so much noise celebrating, Sue was sure the sargeant would be there to see if a riot was breaking out in the large classroom.   

Something bigger than a quiz meet had just happened.  A teenager had found acceptance and approval in the eyes of God and his fellow man for something good--something very very good.     And the rest of the men....well, they found out that they could encourage another human being and want him to succeed for no other motivation than LOVE. 

Larry and Sue?  They realized afresh that there was nowhere else  they would rather be...then right there in the large classroom of Medina County Jail with their dear ones.