In Prison

   " . . . so it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ."  Philippians Ch.1, vs. 13
   Have you ever known anyone who is in prison?
   How about arrested?  At a public supper here in Dennysville recently, in honor of a retiring deputy sheriff, the Master of Ceremonies asked those whom he had ever arrested to stand up, and good portion of the room did so. 
   Paul also knew what it was like to be arrested, and imprisoned--and not just once!  He wrote his famous Epistle to the Philippians from prison in Rome.  Unlike his first house arrest, when he was able to live in a rented house for two years, as Luke tells us, and "welcome all those who came to him,"  (Acts Ch. 28, vs. 30,) this time he was locked up, under constant surveillance, and wearing chains.

   What is it like to be in prison?  It's not called doing time for nothing.  If we, as Christians, are to remember those in prison "as though in prison with them," (Hebrews Ch. 13, vs. 3,) we need to have some idea of what it is like.  We are all hemmed in by circumstances beyond our control, whether there are bars and walls or not.   Mark Twain has one of his characters declare:
   "I wish I wasn't cramped and kept down and fettered with poverty. . . . Oh, it is a fearful thing to be poor."
What is it that imprison you and me, and what can we do about it?  Are we really as helpless as we feel?


    In his letter to the Philippians, Paul lets us into the mind of a prisoner, giving us a glimpse of his own mind.  Despite the reality of chains and guards, God was still at work:
   "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ . . ." 
Then there was the trickle down effect:
   "and most of the brethren in the Lord having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."  Philippian Ch. 1., vs. 12, 13, 14.


   Who wants to go to prison?  How do we respond to the limitations and restrictions that the changes and chances of this fleeting world cast upon us?
What lessons, if any, does Paul have to teach us about being "in prison"?