“Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained” (2 Timothy 2:8-9).
God knows that our memories are frail and that the cares of this life can sometimes eclipse important biblical truth. That is why the Bible so often commands us to “remember.” Here Paul would have us to remember the Gospel. The Gospel is unparalleled in its ability to restore broken individual lives, homes, families, societies, and nations. Nothing else in all of God’s creation is called “the power of God” but Christ’s Gospel (Romans 1:16). Paul was single-minded in his desire to preach the Gospel and see souls saved. He might have become discouraged at his imprisonment and inability to carry on his missionary work. Instead Paul rejoiced that the word of God was enjoying free course throughout the known world. Like Paul, you and I are subject to great infringements into our individual freedoms. Suffering seemingly endless lockdowns and prohibited to gather as a church, we too might grow discouraged. Instead, we ought to rejoice that, though we cannot move about freely physically, the word of God continues to flood across the world, re-writing minds and transforming hearts. While we are enduring the present distress, let us use every opportunity to encourage ourselves and others with the priceless word of the covenant-keeping God who loved us first.
God bless
Pastor John
English