But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me actually have turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my claims are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear. – Philippians 1:12-14
Paul wrote this, obviously from a jail cell. I’ve never been in jail (except that time we went as a field trip), so I can’t really say what my attitude might be in such a situation, but I don’t imagine I’d be too chipper. But here we have Paul writing what will become most of the New Testament from his jail cell which, by the way, probably was a whole lot worse than jails today. They didn’t even have TVs, let alone cable! Something in this account impressed me this time.
When I’m having a hard time, I love to sit around and complain. I enjoy a good mope. When I’m having a *really* bad day, I usually want to sleep the whole day. I imagine being in a nasty jail would, for me, fall into the “really bad day” category. But anyway, when I’m in a bad mood, it generally affects folks around me somehow. Maybe I snap at them and then that puts *them* in a bad mood. What happened in Paul’s case? First off, everyone around knew Paul was in jail for the cause of Christ. But what really gets me is how the other Christians reacted to this. They became more confident! Now, that outrightly defies logic. Why would you become more bold and confident about something that put your friend in jail? It’s crazy! It’s insane! It’s the power of God!
Do you hear me? Your suffering, my suffering, can help other believers become more bold in spreading the Gospel!
No pressure. Paul was able to be this witness because he had nothing better to do. His mind could be completely focused on Christ. Had he moped and slept the whole time, people may not have been emboldened by him. But praise God; we can lift our brethren up without even trying!
Let’s always make sure our attitudes reflect Christ. We never know who needs some lifting up.
-j
I'm Jason, and I like to write.