I read where a 59-year-old German man who was sentenced to life in prison 34 years ago refused to leave jail on parole in 1992 and again recently. Having a good friend who is in prison who I correspond with fairly regularly, I know that US jails are not the nicest of places. I suspect that German prisons are no better.

The article gives no explanation nor reasoning for his insistence to remain in prison. Under German laws, though, they cannot force him to leave. Why would someone refuse the freedom that is his? Afraid that, left to his own devices, he will return to bad habits? Unwilling to accept forgiveness for his past mistakes? Unable to forgive himself? Perhaps he has grown accustomed to the jail in which he is held. Maybe he has lost all sense of what true freedom is. Maybe it's been so long that his vision is nothing more than a cell, bars, and three meals a day. Maybe, even when he was free, he didn't really feel free or enjoy freedom. Maybe his present situation has become all he wants.

Interesting to think about ... and how does this apply to us in our lives on the outside?