In 1986, my naive eyes were opened by a new job as a jail guard. The jail baptized me into the world as it was, not the world I believed I lived in. For the first time, I met members of the human race who were damaged beyond repair. I had no idea humanity was so broken. The first such man to greet me was an inmate named Ludwig. 

Ludwig was incarcerated for breaking into a vehicle. Being homeless, he forced his way into an empty car to sleep. The police handled the rest. But that’s not the strangest thing Ludwig had done. He once walked into a Sheriff’s office holding a human skull. He claimed a series of visions led him to the buried body of a missing murder victim. The police found the rest of the body, and Ludwig became a suspect. 

In jail, Ludwig stayed in a “one-man cell.” That meant, for safety, he was housed alone. Ludwig was smart, but he suffered from severe mental illness. During commissary, I’d stop at his cell and give him a Moon Pie while we talked. In lucid moments, Ludwig could quote scripture from memory and engage in an intelligent conversation. At night, however, Ludwig screamed. He shouted at God and at demons. Other inmates couldn’t sleep for the noise. 

Ludwig taught me the world isn’t made of perfectly straight lines. Creation, especially humanity, has a terrible “condition.” Ludwig, a microcosm of mankind, lived his life in torment. He fought his many demons alone. He died in 2001. May he finally rest in peace.

So, where does God’s grace fit in this tragic tale? Ludwig was a man with solid faith and a broken mind. Yet, God’s redemptive plan remains, even for Ludwig. The world’s brokenness is never greater than the One who promises to restore it. Creation is not as it should be. It is also not as it will be. That’s a promise. 

“…the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” (Romans 8:21,22)