ODJ: ken cooper’s kitten
June 11, 2010
All of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image (v.18).
READ: 2 Corinthians 3:7-18
In 1983, Ken Cooper’s 3-year career as an armed felon ended when he was sentenced to 99 years in Florida’s infamous prison—The Rock. With just five guards controlling 900 inmates, The Rock was a hell hole of knifings, beatings, murders, and rape. But while there, Ken Cooper heard the gospel through a brave prison chaplain and became a follower of Jesus. Soon some of Ken’s cellmates did too, and their lives began to change.
One day Ken and his friends adopted a kitten that they named Mr. Magoo. Mr. Magoo’s back had been broken and his eyes had been blinded by acid—cruel acts committed by other inmates. But Ken and the other kind inmates held Mr. Magoo each day, took turns feeding him, and even prayed for his sight to return. Mr. Magoo was lavished with love. And his sight did return!
The justice system could punish Ken and his cellmates, but it couldn’t change their hearts. The kindness shown to Mr. Magoo revealed the transformation taking place inside them.
The apostle Paul once lamented that many of his fellow Jews rejected Jesus for the Old Testament law. Paul’s response was that while that law was good (Romans 7:12,14) and glorious (2 Corinthians 3:7), it could only condemn when we broke it (v.9). Like the civil law that judged Ken Cooper, the law exposes our bad deeds and sentences us.
In contrast, Jesus, by His Spirit, offers inner transformation. He enters our lives and starts restoring our souls to make us “more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image” (v.18). We are freed and changed (v.17).
For Paul, the good-but-condemning law was no match for the good-and-transforming Spirit (v.8). Ken Cooper would concur, for God’s grace turned hardened criminals into kitten-loving gentlemen. —Sheridan Voysey
How legalistic are you? Do you believe that your allegiance to God’s law will make you good? What sin or weakness will you offer to Jesus today as you seek to be transformed into His character?
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So many books and people inform but only Christ and the bible can transform us from a death-doomed sinner to a saint save dby Grace.
I agree with Grace; the kitten was God’s tool to help change the inmates….