One way Paul set an...
Illustration
One way Paul set an example for many Christians who have followed is in his acceptance of imprisonment. In an age of suspended sentences, plea bargaining, and every avoidance to serving time, we might well be awed by Paul's calm. He had had countless opportunities toward freedom, but his appeal to Rome for complete vindication was one motivation to endure. The other was his opportunity to witness for Christ.
Saint Joan accepted her martyrdom; Luther endured his protective custody. And, in our century, Dietrich Bonhoeffer found spiritual freedom, even though detained and ultimately martyred in a Nazi concentration camp. Their bodies may have been detained, but their spirits were free.
Many of us suffer a different kind of imprisonment. We may find our bodies free, but we let our spirits be fettered by our greed, our selfishness, our impiety.
Self-forgetfulness; genuine interest in others. That is the quickest escape from our spiritual prison.
Saint Joan accepted her martyrdom; Luther endured his protective custody. And, in our century, Dietrich Bonhoeffer found spiritual freedom, even though detained and ultimately martyred in a Nazi concentration camp. Their bodies may have been detained, but their spirits were free.
Many of us suffer a different kind of imprisonment. We may find our bodies free, but we let our spirits be fettered by our greed, our selfishness, our impiety.
Self-forgetfulness; genuine interest in others. That is the quickest escape from our spiritual prison.
