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2 Timothy 1:8
The Apostle Paul declared himself a prisoner of the Lord in 2 Timothy 1:8. We may find this odd, but he is referring to his calling from God to preach the gospel. Paul states in Ephesians 3:1–4 (NKJV), “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles–if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),”. I believe he is speaking of his calling from Jesus as recorded in Acts 9 while being blinded by Jesus on the road to Damascus and then spent three days in solitude, blinded, with no food nor water.
Paul instructs Timothy to “not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:8) and instructs Timothy to “share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,”. Jesus declared in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
This is a command to take up our cross and stand tall for Jesus.
Jesus stated in Matthew 10:38–39, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” To lose our life for the sake of Jesus is to lose the life of following the ways of this world and open our eyes, hearts, minds, and souls to the new life in Christ Jesus as we profess Him our Savior. To be a prisoner of Jesus is to not be a prisoner at all but to be set free from the prison of this world.
Dear LORD,
The word prisoner is a scary word to us as no one desires to be a prisoner. Please help us to see that being a prisoner of Christ Jesus is to be dedicated to following His teachings and applying them in our lives. Please help us to realize and understand that we are all dedicated to something – that we are all prisoners to our choices in this life, but that choosing Jesus is to be set free from the ways of this world and become a prisoner to eternal life and following the way, the truth, and the life that is only found in Christ (John 14:6). In Jesus name I pray, amen.