Paul's Prison Epistles

 This week for Come Follow Me we read two more of Paul's prison epistles.  When Paul first arrived in Rome his captivity wasn't too bad.  He was in house arrest and was able to receive visitors and live in relative comfort. Many scholars believe he was released after two years and had further missionary journeys, though these do not appear in the New Testament.  Then around 66 AD he was arrested again, put in a terrible prison, and eventually executed.  It is unclear whether the epistle to the Philippians came from the time of this second imprisonment, but many believe it did because he seems to be more resigned to his ultimate fate than in some of his other epistles.  He says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain...For I am in a strait betwixt the two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you." (v 21-24)

I have been thinking this week about Paul's life. One might think that Paul's imprisonment in Rome was a terrible thing.  From this passage we see that, at least in his letters, Paul didn't think so.  He actually felt that his imprisonment allowed the gospel to spread more easily (v. 12).  Of course, he was more right than he knew even then.  What if Paul had not gone to prison?  He seems to have written some letters to the saints in the different areas of his missions before he went to prison, but much of the second half of the New Testament is composed of letters that Paul wrote in prison.  Would he have written them if he was still out traveling around, teaching the gospel? 

His prison epistles have a similar structure.  He introduces himself, teaches the doctrine of Christ, applies that doctrine to specific problems his audience is having, and then closes with encouragement and salutations.  He is clearly writing the letters to be a kind of manual for the saints about what Christians believe and how to live the life of a Christians. If Paul hadn't written these teachings down, they probably would not have persisted into the future. If you don't believe me just consider how many of Peter's teachings we have in the New Testament. After the apostles' death the Christian church would probably have weakened and been absorbed back into the polytheism that prevailed in the Roman Empire.  Paul's epistles laid the solid, tangible foundation of the Christian religion among the gentiles which ended up being the group that carried the religion into the future. 

I must admit, one of the things that frightens me about being a follower of Christ is that there is a real possibility that God will ask me to do something really hard and unpleasant during this life.  I look at historical characters like Paul, Moroni, Joseph Smith and my own ancestors, Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow.  Their lives were not always (or even often) very happy. God asked them to do really hard things.  Of course, we have faith that they were amply rewarded for their sacrifice in the eternities.  I actually have that faith as well.  I truly believe that anything God asks me to do will ultimately be the best thing for me to do.  But that doesn't mean it doesn't scare me. It is a little bit like facing surgery.  Anyone who agrees to surgery does so because they believe it will be of benefit to them, but few look forward to it. Maybe as I age and mature spiritually, I will come to accept with more courage  God's plan for me, and face it with Paul-like joy.