I look forward to the daily emails—a short devotional to start my morning. But I especially look forward to Fridays. That’s Jimmy’s day to write.
Jimmy is an interesting guy. Experts have assessed his IQ to be quite low, and he reads and writes on about a 3rd-grade level. To his friends, he is just known as Jimmy, but to many others he is better known as Z-557, a prisoner on Death Row in Alabama’s Holman Correctional Facility.
He lives in Unit N-10. His sparse, windowless cell measures 8 feet by 5 feet. He has been there since 1994 when he entered at age 23.
Like the other 169 death-row inmates at Holman, he is well aware of the stark reality of his future. He knows a room just down the hall will be where he takes his last breath. The only thing he doesn’t know is when.
Yet, he hasn’t given up on living. Hasn’t given up on serving. Hasn’t given up on letting God use him. The devotionals that Jimmy writes are sent to about 10,000 people, allowing His message to touch hearts and lives on six continents. They go to public officials—city managers, senators and the like—as well as nonprofit leaders, educators and civil servants, all reading his words every Friday.
I don’t know much about his story. I don’t know the details of his crimes. A Google search turns up articles listing reasons why he shouldn’t be there. A botched investigation, a lack of evidence, lying witnesses.
But these never get mentioned in his devotionals. He strikes me as someone who seeks no sympathy, someone who has accepted his situation and merely desires to let God redeem the time he has left.
His writings are not about Him, only about the Lord—how to grow closer to Him and live out the Christian faith.
When others look at him, perhaps all they see is a criminal condemned to die. How ironic that he spends his days crafting messages written with the hope of giving life to others.
And he is so thankful for the occasions he has to do it. Like the prayer from one of his April devotionals in which he writes, “Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You for giving me Your grace so I can speak for Your son. Thank You for giving me opportunities to find ways to shout, ‘Come back to God!’ each day of my life.”
As I reflect on my Christian brother’s powerful ministry, a convicting question forms in my mind.
What am I doing for the kingdom today?
Photo Credit: Photograph by Flickr user dylaphant07, distributed under CC-BY 2.0 license. Accessed at Wikimedia Commons.
Belinda Elliott 
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