Most United States citizens celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, but three Americans celebrated it a couple of days early this year. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, who had been held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) since February, 2003, were rescued on July 2, 2008.
CNN aired the first interview with the former hostages, and I was quickly drawn in. As each man recounted specific details of his experience in captivity, I found myself relating more and more on a personal level. In some way they were not only telling their stories, but my own. In fact, I dare say they were telling the story of all of us. While we may not identify with being imprisoned in a literal sense, we can certainly recognize that we’ve been held hostage. Some of us still are. The captor is called sin, and Satan is in charge of security.
At times there was no verbal communication to the point that the men actually lost their ability to speak in anything more than a whisper; at other times all visual contact was lost in this “black hole” of isolation. Isn’t this what sin does to us? We feel guilty, so we isolate ourselves in an attempt to hide the truth. Soon the truth is silenced altogether.
They spoke of being tied to trees and of sleeping in boxes. Immobility. We find ourselves so wrapped up in a certain sinful behavior or thought pattern that we cannot break free … emotionally … physically. We need a rescuer!
Keith Stansell had this to say, “Imagine this… marching through the jungle - 15 feet of chain weighing 10 pounds wrapped around your neck and secured with a big heavy lock. You’ve got a guy three feet behind you holding the chain using a dog leash and pointing a rifle at your back … and you’ve marched like that for years.” What is that 10 pounds of chain for us … that sin that just gets heavier with each step? How long will we allow it to weigh us down, as the Subjugator keeps us from moving forward in a relationship with Christ by controlling our every step.
There was one other thing that intrigued me in particular about this story. It was the way that Keith Stansell described his captors. In veiled attempts to garner sympathy from their prisoners, they would state they were only “following orders”. While they tried to present themselves as “good guys”, their cruel actions always betrayed them. They simply were not to be trusted. Because the captors knew they had no real (political) power, they chose to use any means available to wreak as much havoc as possible toward their hostages. If that doesn’t sound like Satan, I don’t know what does! The one who disguises himself as an angel of light is anything but! Although he has no lasting power … Christ has seen to that… he will use what he does have … lies, guilt, isolation, misrepresentation, fear, to do what he can.
Again and again I saw spiritual parallels. So many, in fact, that I’ve been sorting through them in my mind since the actual interview almost a month ago. I hope you won’t lose heart … because there is a happy ending. The men in this story were rescued! And so was I! Christ’s atoning work on the cross paved the way for victory over sin once and for all.
One final thought: according to Gonsalves, his rescue was bittersweet. As I listened, he certainly sounded joyful over his newfound freedom; however, his heart seemed to ache for other hostages to know the freedom he now enjoys. So, he has taken it upon himself to put out a message to the world: “others are still imprisoned in the jungles of Colombia”. I know how he feels. Any joy I experience because of my own relationship with Christ is tempered by the sobering fact that so many are still held captive. My message is to the church, but the sentiments are the same. If we truly understand what it means to have been rescued from the grip of sin and death … if we have been liberated from guilt, isolation, immobility … we must help someone else to experience that same freedom.
To see the actual video, click on the link below. (You can scroll half-way down the page to click on the portion of the interview I found most meaningful. The title is "Exclusive: Held Captive by the FARC".)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/10/farc.americans/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
