I Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3.1)A sad facts here in Brazil is that the prison system doesn’t work. There are too many scoundrels for too few slammers. This scenario proffers two options, either overcrowding or early release. I have never visited a male prison but I’ve seen pictures. It is never a good situation.
Not all of the bad boys get out early, however. In fact there are a few hardened criminals who do remain behind the rusty bars and in their dank and dark dens of iniquity. These men and women are locked away from society yet many of them conduct gang business as normal from their cages. With cellphone technology they are able to communicate with their various evil contacts and command their diabolic domains from within.
Authorities, try as they might, find it almost impossible to stop the cryptic communications. Hits are made, drugs are run and people’s lives destroyed by incarcerated thugs. It is incredible. How can someone be so wickedly efficient from a prison cell.
The same question might have also been asked around two-thousand years ago. There were no Smart Phones, Androids or Internet back then but there was one person in particular who communicated very efficiently from within the thick damp walls of a Roman prison. His name was Paul of Tarsus. Reading Paul’s words in Ephesians 3 always remind me that he was in chains. “I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles….”
In fact Paul wrote: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon in chains. Can you imagine the world without these letters? I think that God had Paul chained so that he would have time to write them before his early death.
Paul was amazing and I never cease to wonder what it must have been like working with him. You’ve seen the Energizer Bunny commercials? Paul would have exhausted that hare.
In the above mentioned letters from his cell Paul tells us how to live the freedom that we have in Christ. He tells us how to be truly liberated even if confined in a prison cell, by a bad relationship or with sickness. His Holy Spirit inspired letters give us hope where there seems to be none. He never complains about his lot but always encourages, uplifts and edifies. Encourage, uplift and edify mean basically the same thing. My repetition was meant to intensify what Paul has so beautify communicated though himself chained.
If you find yourself unwillingly confined just now don’t give up hope. You may not have control over your situation. You may never escape. However, turn your attention to Paul’s God. He is attentive to your need. He can help any plight. He can help you to make a difference in your world. Study Paul’s manual on “How to Be in Control (Even though chained)”.* It is a Best Seller!
*Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon
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