CAPE TOWN, South Africa–Tickets to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned sold out fast during the Lausanne Congress. That didn’t surprise me. How can one fail to admire Mandela for overcoming great adversity to lead a nation to democracy?

I can’t help but wonder if Mandela, imprisoned under harsh conditions for 27 years, could have imagined that one day he would have opportunity to impact not only his own country of South Africa, but the world.

On a very basic level, there is something so compelling about his story. Humankind fears captivity and treasures freedom. Mandela emerged from captivity unbowed to lead others to stand proud and ultimately to claim freedom.

Three years after his 1990 prison release, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his resistance to apartheid. One year later he was elected as the President of South Africa.

Yet now at age 92, Mandela has released a book, “Conversations With Myself”, that by his own choice, tells not only of his strengths, but his failures.

Today on the final day of the Third Lausanne Congress, I am thinking about freedom.

Jesus Christ was also imprisoned. But He burst forth from the grave to call all who believe to freedom.

But unlike any of our earthly heroes, Jesus will never release a book that discusses His failures. The Book has already been written and it tells us that He alone was without sin. Yet He died for us.

As participants at the Third Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization pack their bags and head for the airport, I pray that they will do so with a fresh commitment to tell the world about Christ who alone can give eternal freedom.