Sitting here, my gaze falls on a photo of my wife and I sitting in the chapel that the Changi prisoners built to worship God. Whether Singaporean or British, they were imprisoned because of war and strife between nations. Their nationalities and loyalty were the reasons for incarceration.

The mind ranges down through history and sees other prisoners. Men and women imprisoned because they were Christians. Even today there are still some who suffer the same because of their allegiance to Christ. But prison walls could not enclose their souls, nor chains bind their consciences, nor bars bend their wills.

Why such determination, why such fortitude to accept their liberty being taken from them and the privations of a dungeon or a cell? Well, it is because they were already prisoners. As Paul, who himself experienced the same rote, “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ” (Philm 1). When the soul is captive to Christ, then the sufferings of the body are sweetened. Let our souls cry, “Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.”