Join with me in suffering for the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:8
No Greater Honor
Daily Devotion – October 13, 2018
Devotion based on 2 Timothy 1:8
See series: Devotions
Many tourists in Rome will tell you that it is one of the most difficult sites to find. The site that is difficult to find is the Mamertine Prison, the traditional place where the apostle Paul awaited his execution. Over the years, countless tourists have walked right past it without recognizing what it was. This is understandable, because the Mamertine Prison does not resemble our idea of a prison. Rather, it is simply an ancient cistern divided into two rooms, one on top of the other.
On the floor of the upper room is a hole. And through that hole is where prisoners were either lowered–or dropped–into the lower room. This lower room was called the Tullianum.
According to an ancient historian, this lower room, the Tullianum, was 12 feet underground. In his words, it was “disgusting and vile by reason of the filth, the darkness and the stench.” The room itself measures 6 ½ feet high, 30 feet long and 22 feet wide. This was where prisoners waited to die, either by execution or by simple starvation. An iron door at the end of the room opened into the city’s main sewer, where dead bodies are said to have been dumped into the river.
It was in this lower room—the Tullianum—this bottom half of an old cistern, where many believe Paul spent his final days. If that’s the case, then this was also where the Lord moved him to write his final letter. In that letter, the Holy Spirit empowered Paul to look beyond the dank, foul walls of his dungeon and to speak to his friend, Timothy. He also speaks to you and me.
Across the years, Paul says, “Join with me. Join with me in suffering for the gospel.”
The Lord may not call upon us to endure the darkness and misery of the Mamertine Prison. But as you and I carry the Good News of Jesus through this jagged, broken world, there will be all kinds of moments when we will endure difficulties and hardships of every description. For the sake of the gospel we will suffer.
And that’s all right. In fact, it’s more than all right. For as you and I join with Paul in suffering difficulty and hardship for the sake of sharing the gospel—for the sake of sharing the message of full forgiveness through faith in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—there is no greater honor. None.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, in those moments when I suffer difficulty for the sake of your gospel, remind me of Paul. And refresh me in your forgiveness. Amen.
This devotion was selected from the Daily Devotion archive.
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