'PAUL, A PRISONER OF JESUS CHRIST.'
By Augusta W. Heald
SOME thirty years before the date of this epistle to Philemon, Saul of Tarsus was actively engaged in the persecution of Christians, committing men and women to prison, thinking to do God service. But Jesus of Nazareth had revealed Himself to this fierce enemy, showing him how great things he must suffer for His name's sake. Henceforth Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, fearlessly and faithfully preached the faith which once he destroyed. "Paul the aged"—Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ—bound by a Roman chain, confined behind the bars of a Roman prison, suffers for the faith of Jesus. It is a matter of history that the members of the primitive church, with perhaps a few exceptions, suffered martyrdom, sealing their testimony with their blood. Some have entertained the idea that persecution for righteousness' sake is a thing wholly of the past, but, in view of the prophecy of Rev. 13:15-17, we may know that in the last days the church of God will suffer persecution, and be brought into fearful straits, the decree of death being actually passed upon them. Neither is this wholly a matter of prophecy, as once it was, for in the closing years of the nineteenth century, with all its boasted civilization, conscientious, God-fearing men have been arrested and served terms in jail or chain-gang, for obedience to the fourth commandment of God. Does it seem unreasonable that the faithful follower of Jesus should thus suffer? Remember, then, the Saviour's words: "The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." John 15:20. Remember, also, the words of Peter: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as tho some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." 1 Peter 4:12, 13. Remember the words of Paul, the "prisoner of Jesus Christ:" "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." AUGUSTA W. HEALD.
Windham, N. H.