Living On Mission with Paul in Jail

Living On Mission with Paul in Jail

I have a confession.  I’ve spent a lot of time at the county jail.  Ok, before you start to wonder about the thoroughness of background checks for pastors, let me ease your mind a little.  When I was a kid, my best friend was the daughter of the county sheriff. The jail and the sheriff’s apartment were both housed in the penthouse of the county courthouse.  Fancy, huh?  Not really.  One of the things I remember most is the concrete floors (these were of course used throughout the jail too.)  While concrete floors were GREAT for roller skating, they were not so great for sleepovers.  Hey, but at least we had sleeping bags and pillows, right?  Even those in jail on the other side of the penthouse had bunks to sleep on.  I’m guessing that Paul often had no such measures of comfort in his jail.  And yet…

Paul chose to stay.  In jail.  On earth.  He chose to delay the comforts of heaven and all of the pleasures that he knew awaited him there.  Why?  So that he could help others.  He showed us what it was like to live not for ourselves, but for others.  He poured out his love, his gifts, his knowledge, and his very life for the sake of others. 

What would it look like for us today to live for our city?  Could we give up some of the luxurious comforts that we enjoy in order to have the means to give to others? Could we go out of our way to show kindness when it’s not convenient? Could we begin to think of the needs of others as more important than our own needs?  This would certainly be a new way of life for me.  I believe that this is the way of life in the Kingdom of God.

Let’s practice living on mission and get caught RedHanded – LovingOurCity.

Pastor Angela