2 Timothy 1:15-18

there's a question in here:

2 Timothy 1:15-18

15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

looking right into verses 16 and 17, "and was not afraid of my chains...he searched HARD for me" (emphasis mine)...while this bodes well for dear Onesiphorus who obviously gave a great deal of time and effort to help Paul and his ministry to spread the Gospel, there's something deeper here, i think...

many times in Scripture, chains and other forms of subjugation are used to signify the weight and constriction of sin upon the spirits of men...i wonder, how often do we see our Christian brothers and sisters locked up under some secret sin of indulgence or anger...people who put up a pretty front on Sunday morning, but struggle with serious spiritual issues every day...when we see these, how often do we just sadly shake out heads and say, "well, i'll pray for you", and just hope that it'll all go away?...not to diminish the power of prayer, but shouldn't we be "searching HARD" to find these folks and help them get out of whatever bondage they're in?...i mean, there are bounds of propriety when asking about someone's life, but if you're connecting with them as loving children of God, we should be able to look through the fakey garbage front and find the soul that's tied down inside and asisst however we can...

shouldn't we?...

thoughts, comments?...