Ephesians 3:11-13

This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.

It might seem strange, at least at first, that Paul tells the people of Ephesus that his suffering, his imprisonment, is their glory. One would think that there is no glory in being in prison. On the other hand, he is a prisoner of the Roman government and as such one would have to wonder why anyone would boast that a friend is now in jail. That would just not be right, or would it?

Well, think about it. Paul tells the Ephesians to go ahead and boast, be proud of his imprisonment and the suffering he has to endure because of it. Why? Paul is in prison because he had proclaimed the Gospel. If he had not proclaimed the Gospel, he would be a free man. If he had not proclaimed the Gospel to the people of Ephesus, they would not now have the faith they do. Therefore, it is very good that Paul is now in prison, good for them and good for him.

There are many times in this life when we have to endure pain and suffering in order to bring about some good. There are other times when we suffer at the hands of others simply because we have done something good for someone else and those who are punishing us are angry or jealous or whatever. We have all been down each of those roads on many occasions in our lives.

This is not to say that we relish the pain we are enduring. Paul may have been happy that he had been imprisoned because he had preached the Gospel, but he certainly did not enjoy the pain and hardship that was part of his punishment. It is to say, or simply remind, that living out our faith often means that we will have to carry a cross that is sometimes quite painful.

We can avoid that cross, refuse to carry it, if we so choose. Our faith does not force us to do anything we do not wish to do. Just as there have been many times when we freely chose to carry a cross because of our faith, there have also been times when we have decided not to pick up that cross because we deemed it to be too painful and choose not to suffer that pain.

Paul chose to carry the cross of being an apostle of Jesus. At times that cross was not too heavy or too burdensome. At other times it was almost unbearable and quite painful. We do not know how painful this present cross was for Paul. He does not say. What he does say is that he is happy that he has been able to bear it and will continue to bear it all because the people in Ephesus have found faith in Jesus.

I pray: Lord, help me to bear whatever cross I should this day so that I can and will willingly witness to may faith in you no matter how painful it may be. Amen.