As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. -Ephesians 4:1, 2
What do you think of Paul referring to himself as a prisoner? Does that surprise you, or do you find it strange? The problem is that we always associate being a prisoner in a negative sense. But here Paul uses it in the positive. Christ will not let him go. He is bound to remain in Christ’s service for the rest of his life. When it comes to serving the Lord, ours is a life sentence. We are to be in this for the long haul. Following Christ is to be our life’s work until the day we die. From Paul’s perspective, being a prisoner for the Lord was not to be taken in the negative, but rather as a statement of his commitment to serving the Lord throughout his life.
The prisoner who is serving a life sentence understands that he or she will be a prisoner for the duration of life. Imagine looking out at the years to come and knowing that situation is not going to change. In referring to himself as a prisoner, Paul the Apostle was making a statement about his wholehearted commitment to serving the Lord Jesus. He would remain in Christ's service, a prisoner, for the duration of his life. Such commitment stands firm, doesn't back down, and will not alter with the shifting tides of life. Come what may, the prisoner of the Lord is going to remain in that state.
Imagine for a moment going to a job interview. Suppose the interviewer were to ask where you see yourself in the next five, ten, or twenty years. Are you able to think that far ahead? Does such a span of time seem too far down the road to hazard a guess as to what you might be doing then? For the believer, we must be able to say with all confidence that come five, ten, twenty, or even thirty years down the road we will still be following Christ and serving Him. Come what may, and no matter what direction our lives go, our commitment is to serve the Lord for life. Such a commitment qualifies us to declare ourselves a prisoner of the Lord, as did Paul the Apostle.
