Matthew 25:41-43 — Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was ahungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

I might have missed a divine appointment at 5:11 this morning. Or maybe not …
I’ve been coming to Las Vegas for more than twenty-five years. This morning, for the first time ever, I think I had an immoral proposition made to me as I went to pick up a cup of coffee before I had my morning devotions and quiet time … Or maybe not … Let me tell you about it.
I was walking through the hotel corridors over to the one coffee shop where you can get a cup of coffee at any time of night or day (no, it’s not S***B***s). There was a lady sitting on a chair as I walked past. She said good morning. I said good morning. Then came my wake-up call! “Are you going to want to see me later?” she said. What? No! “No thank you.” I said, and walked on slightly dazed and went to get my coffee.
So there you have it. Was it a proposition …? Or did I miss a divine appointment?
Did I miss an opportunity to witness to that thirty- something lady who was so desperate as to offer herself to a stranger at 5:11 in the morning in a hotel corridor? The thought will haunt me for a while.
“I was … in prison, and you visited me not.” You know (you DO know), prisons come in many forms — visible, and invisible. What would have happened if I had sat down besides that lady and just talked to her about Jesus? Would I have I unlocked some chains, opened a prison door, shown a prisoner a way out? Honestly, probably not … But maybe.
In the seventeenth century Richard Lovelace wrote “Stone walls do not a prison make nor iron bars a cage.” So many things in life are prisons. Circumstances — poverty, health, family challenges — can be prisons. Addictions — to substances or lifestyles — can be prisons. Even our own beliefs about ourselves can be prisons. One of our jobs is to set the prisoners free. God makes appointments for us with those prisoners. Maybe I missed one today.