Skip to main content

Prisoner in Peace

chainedI therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk ... in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4.1-3)

Prison and peace don’t go together. I have been to prison various times through the years though, thank the Lord, I have never been incarcerated. However, on my visits I never sensed peace. There always seems to be tension, sinister undertones and accusing glances. Every conversation and action is observed by armed guards. The slightest movements or gestures can bring a reprimand. A prison’s goal is to separate the troublemaker from peace-loving citizens.

In all of my prison visits I never once desired to go back. I knew that I needed to for the solace of the one I visited. However, those visits were more of a downer than a comfort for me. I know, “It’s not about me!” But you get my point.

Paul’s words in Ephesians 4.1-3 are incredibly ironic. There are no accusing words, no grumbling complaints against the system and no pleas for clemency. Prisoner Paul places his detention completely within God’s will. He sees his lack of freedom as God’s problem and not his as he calls for good conduct among the brethren. The felon encourages the “free” to exhibit no less than six Christlike qualities. Notice them. He says “be:

humble,
gentle,
patient,
loving,
tolerant,
unified

How were the believers supposed to accomplish these qualities? By recognizing their bondage. Notice the last phrase of verse 3, keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul was bound by an iron shackle whether to a stone wall, wooden stake or Roman soldier. Bonds were very familiar to him. Bonds bind, hurt sometimes and limit personal freedoms.

Paul used his bonds as an example of how the believers were to be bound spiritually. That spiritual bond would limit their personalities too. Being, humble, gentle, patient, loving, tolerant and unified are restricting qualities. They crimp our style. But they are a part of God’s will. There must be no complaining nor clemency sought. Each believer, whether in Paul’s day or in ours, is to accept our Spirit given bonds. When we do peace reigns.

So, my friend look around you today and see the incarcerated. Practice being a model prisoner. Whether behind prison walls or on the other side of the assembly line those bound by sin are all around you. You hold the key to their new cell. The warden is the Holy Spirit and no one ever wants out of His detention center. So... give em the key!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth?  Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tottering!

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my po...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Missionary Thing

"I wish I could get into this Missionary Thing!" I have heard this statement a number of times during my missionary career. People say it in feigned jest. Especially when they see something special happening to missionaries. Tonight for instance a friend loaned us his brand new Chrysler Sebring. Or how about this one, Someone once gave us $10,000. I think that the "Missionary Thing" statement is a reaction to perceived preferential treatment. Granted, I had never receive $10,000 in a lump sum offering until I became a missionary. I had never had anyone give me a car, house, apartment, computer, airline ticket and myriad other things until I became a missionary.  Being a missionary does have it's definite benefits. One of the biggest of those being that we get to do what Paul did. Paul was able to recount his story to perhaps thousands before his death at the hands of Nero. We are still feeling the after-shock of his message. Paul's is that Christ-like exampl...
Post a Comment
Read more