An ambassador in chains

Pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6 ESV

A few years ago Mary and I visited Jerusalem with a group from Amos trust. Out of the many churches and sites we visited one that made a lasting impression on me was the House of the High priest and in particular the dungeon underneath. This was a tiny cell with an adjoining guard room, only accessed in Jesus' day by a hole through the roof. 

Here we heard some of the psalms of lament read to us in English and Aramaic, which would have been the language similar to what Jesus would have spoken. These psalms are real cries of woe, such as Psalm 130 " Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord." , but end we real expressions of confidence in God as Saviour and redeemer: "Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."

Of course for Jesus this Psalm was really prophetic He really was the one who would redeem Israel and not just Israel but every one on earth who believed in Him.

Prison has in fact been a fertile place to spread the Gospel, a place of enforced quiet where freed from distractions creative forces can flow.

One example is John Bunyan, tinker and itinerant preacher who was repeatedly imprisoned for preaching the Gospel without a license. He wrote one of the most famous and influential books in the English language, Pilgrims Progress while in Bedford jail.

The most famous author who wrote some of his most amazing work in prison, was St Paul who was imprisoned on several occasions throughout his ministry but most famously in Rome imprisoned under house arrest chained to a Roman soldier all the time.

He wrote his famous prison letters: Ephesians, Philippians,Colossians and Philemon. Each letter is full of the deepest wisdom of God, particularly highlighting the love and grace of Jesus and Philippians especially brimming over with an amazing Gospel joy.   

So at the moment most of us are in self isolation and the challenge is how can we be ambassadors in chains? Everyone will have a different answer to this question as each of us have different skills and talents. We are so lucky in theses days to be connected to the internet so there  are still many ways to communicate, indeed local communities are interacting in more ways than ever before sharing shopping trips and little moments of fun and amusement.
it may be however that we are called on to just be alone spending time on communion with God.
Saint Paul like many great saints in the bible spent time in the desert after he was called getting to know the saviour who had appeared so miraculously to him on the Damascus road.
So let us all strive to come out of this lock-down period as better people with more love and concern for neighbours and friends and a deeper relationship with Jesus.