June 17, 2019
“This is the reason I am persecuted and imprisoned by evildoers, enduring the suffering of these chains—but the Word of God can never be chained! I endure all these hardships for the benefit of the chosen ones in Christ so that they may also discover the overcoming life that is in Jesus Christ, and experience a glory that lasts forever!” – 2 Timothy 2:9-10 (The Passion Translation)
What stands out to me more than anything else is found right there at the end of verse 9. “…but the Word of God can never be chained!” Wow! Paul was giving this word of encouragement to Timothy, but it both encourage and convicted me as well. It caused me to examine myself and ask, do I chain God’s Word?
We all know that the world is crazy and we all talk about the fact that the church needs to rise up, but we are the church. We have the hope of glory on the inside of us and people need to know about Him. Not just people that come to church, but everyone He puts in our path. Verse 10 says that Paul endures hardships so that others may discover the overcoming life that is in Jesus Christ and experience a glory that lasts forever. Paul was in physical chains and while we may not be in physical chains, too much of the church, to many of us are chained up. Feeling like we can’t share the Word. I have been guilty of staying silent so I wouldn’t offend. I have been guilty of thinking about how my actions may affect my job. But the thing that I have been the most guilty of is chaining up God’s Word. I do a lot of sharing and spreading the Word, but there are times where I don’t say what I should say. In those instances, I feel like I have chained up the Word of God.
Political correctness makes us think that there are things we can and can’t say. Tolerance and perception make us feel like we can share the Word here, but not the Word there. Fear makes us question if we are equipped to bring the Word where God tells us. When we do all of these things we are acting like the Word of God is in chains. These are self-imposed, man-made chains that cannot hold back the truth of the Word of God unless we fail to open our mouths and share it. So as I am reading this, I am examining myself and challenging myself to always speak forth the truth in love. To be moved by the Holy Spirit to always keep the Word unchained and moving freely in my life.
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