In 1951 Sam Turner, a 29 year old serving an 8-year prison term near Atlanta, Georgia, saw an opportunity and took it. Working on a road gang, Sam notice a security lapse that gave him the opportunity to “just walk away”— and he did.
It took 46 years, but authorities finally caught up with Sam. In 1997, a routine search of driver’s license renewal records turned up the man who had been a fugitive for nearly half a century— all the while raising a family, working as a machinist, serving as a deacon in his church, and by all appearances living a normal life. He’d gotten a driver’s license, applied for Social Security benefits, and even been stopped by police for traffic infractions— yet his secret had never been discovered. He never even changed his name.
When authorities caught up with him in December 1997, Sam was sitting in his den watching TV, just like any other citizen in his little town might have been doing that evening. After 46 years, he was a prisoner once again.
Sam Turner’s story reminds us that THE NEW LIFE we’ve been granted through grace should never be taken for granted. Easter is about the gift of NEW LIFE – and this new life is always “Unfinished Business.” Christ redemption IS COMPLETE – but NOT what we do with it. We are always being called “one step further” as we follow Jesus. Jesus was not in the tomb, the scriptures repeatedly say. “He’s gone on ahead of you!” the angelic messengers declare.
Indeed He has – and Jesus calling us to live the new life He has given us. Those of us fortunate to experience this new life must ask: Are we making this new life mean something?
(Not sure where I found this story and the thought behind it, but its good from wherever it came from!)
