This Week’s Passage: 1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Perspective. That’s what hit home with me this week as I pondered this passage. Think about it… Here Paul is sitting in a jail cell. If I had been called as an apostle and church planter I’m sure I’d be thinking that there were better ways to spend my time then sitting in a stinking prison. I’d no doubt wonder if God knew what He was up to. Paul had a different perspective. He didn’t even see himself as a prisoner of Rome but as a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.” He had been captured by the gospel. It was not his call any longer concerning how he spent his time. He was told what to do and he did it. He no longer had rights – because the righteousness of Christ was now fueling his soul. He was nourished not by the delectable foods of this world but by the Word of God.
And God redeemed the time Paul had while in prison. It was while Paul had all this time on his hands that he wrote what are known as the prison epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. Sacred literature for believers. Books that have been used for almost 2000 years to encourage the church and convict the unchurched.
Perspective. Paul got it. It was not about him and what would make him happy or what would make him comfortable. It was about what God wanted to do through him no matter what the situation or how bad the conditions.
Perspective. That’s what I need so much of the time. I need to realize that when things aren’t going the way that I would like for them to go, that God is still in control and He may have plans for me that I know nothing about. And He may want to do things that I can’t even imagine. God has a unique knack of taking bad situations and bringing good out of them. He knows how to redeem. It’s the best thing that He does.
I’m just sayin’!
Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 3:7-13