It did not always go well with Paul. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he tells us of his many hardships. Five times he was given the 39 lashes by the Jews, three times he was whipped by the Romans and once he was stoned. Apart from that, he was shipwrecked three times and had been in mortal danger more than once. He was chained and thrown into prison on several occasions. This letter was written to Timothy from prison in 64 AD. It was the second time that he was in prison in Rome and it was in the period shortly before he died.

 

From prison, he wrote about what was important to him as a servant of God. The verse for today refers to what he wrote about the resurrection of Christ, a truth that was always non-negotiable to him. He talked about the Good News that he preached. This Good News of Jesus’ resurrection could not be contained by prison walls as Paul himself said, “But the word of God is not in chains.” No chains, no walls or whatever could stop the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 

How true this word of Paul was, we can witness today. The Christian faith is by far the biggest religion in the world. According to internet statistics, there are 2,38 billion Christians worldwide at the moment. That is 31% of the global population. Statisticians predict that it will still be the biggest religion in 2050. In the past, there were always countries, governments, and other religions that wanted to chain the Word of God and they still want to do it today. But God will not allow his Word to be chained. Even in countries and places where the Bible is a forbidden book, people can hear the Good News on their radios. During the Covid-19 pandemic, when we had harsh restrictions and church services could not be held, the Word could be heard on our radios or be watched on other media platforms every Sunday. People can be put in chains, but the Word of God can never be chained.

 

Prayer: We want to shout hallelujahbecause your Word is free from all bonds. Amen