Ephesians 2 – Letter from Jail

“I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.  Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr. (“Letter From a Birmingham Jail”)

Why is it some of the best letters are written from jail?

Some of our greatest words are born from times of great adversity, limitation, and need.  It is from the confines of a prison cell that Paul forges such important passages like this one in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

This is another attribute of God’s Words of truth—they shine brightest in times of darkness (see John 1:5).  Like in the refrain we sing today, “My chains are gone; I’ve been set free.  My God, My Savior has ransomed me” ransom here is a word that speaks of a slave’s or captive’s freedom being purchased at a cost, by a power greater than the chains of injustice.  Great sacrifice has bought us great freedom.

“Never before have I written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?”

–Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reuben Smith