Who is a prisoner?
Ephesians 4:1-6
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
What does it mean for us to be a ‘prisoner’ for the Lord like Paul? He is pretty straightforward in how to do this, we are to live worthy of being called a Christian, being a follower of Jesus. Thinking of all the things we could be a prisoner to now – money, image, career, title, relationships, alcohol, drugs, culture, self and more, I seem to think Paul is contrasting what a prisoner of Christ looks like.
Many of the things that may hold us prisoner often have us concentrating on self, whereas the things that Paul is mentioning have us concentrating on each other and the body of Christ as a whole. Being united within the body of Christ is such a huge witness. Unfortunately, though, we can look back on Christian history and even today see that we haven’t lived the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) with each other: peace, patience, love, being humble with each other. When we concentrate our lives on Jesus and what he has done for all of us there shouldn’t be any division there should only be one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one faith, one baptism.
Lord God, please forgive us where we have made Christianity about ourselves instead of about you, what Jesus did for us on the cross, uniting us back to you. Forgive me where I have not been humble or lived a life worthy of your name but wanted to be right in my opinions over other brothers and sisters in Christ. Help me to always remember that we are all equal at the foot of the Cross. Amen
Written by Suzie Hodgson