BONDS OF GRACE AND GLORY
"Remember my
bonds" Col. 4:18
That is the last word but one, in one of the
most wonderful letters Paul wrote; certainly the letter which in conjunction
with that to the Ephesians constitutes the crowning height of all his teaching.
It is not quite the last word. That follows, and in agreement with all his life
and teaching turns back to God, and out towards others, in the parting wish "Grace be
with you." Yet it is very suggestive that there should come the
cry which reveals his consciousness of
limitation and suffering. The whole letter had been written in prison, and
surely during the writing the place had flamed with light. Paul had been seated
in the heavenlies. The most wonderful visions of the GLORIES of his Lord had
passed before him, and he had seen himself and all Christian souls filled to
the FULL, COMPLETE in the FULLNESS, the COMPLETENESS, of this Lord of
surpassing GLORY. He saw that all things come to a good end, perfected souls, even his bond(s)
because of the God of all grace was in control with His plan from eternity
past. Having finished, he took the pen in his own hand to write the salutation;
and as he did so, the weight of the chain which bound him was felt and perhaps
its pain also. Then his heart went out toward his comrades, and he craved their
sympathy and help: "Remember my bonds." How close that
human touch brings him to all of us, and how much more powerful becomes all
his high spiritual teaching because of it! It is always so. The great things of
spiritual interpretation are always made more powerful to others when they are
reinforced by the touch that reveals our fellowship with those whom we serve in
the sense of need. And yet in spite of the chain, he wrote his salutation: "Grace be
with you."
No comments:
Post a Comment