Matthew 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
"Make Me a Captive, Lord" lists a series of paradoxes. George Matheson wrote it as an interpretation of Ephesians 3:1, where Paul speaks of being the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Originally titled "Christian Freedom," the hymn lists a series of paradoxes. The first phrase, "Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free" is related to the beginning of a historic Church of England prayer, "O God . . . whose service is perfect freedom . . . ." This thought is common throughout Christianity, it is also reflected in John Donne’s Holy Sonnet XIV: "Take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me, never shall be free . . . ."
There are many paradoxes in the Bible. In II Corinthians 12:10, Paul states: "When I am weak, then I am strong." Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:25, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" and in Luke 9:48, "For he who is least among you all will be great." And in John 12:24, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."
No doubt Matheson learned this lesson in his own life. Blind by the time he was 18, he eventually had to give up studying theology, which he loved. He then put his time and energy into devotional writing and preaching. As a preacher, he had a profound effect on all that heard him, including Queen Victoria and Oswald Chambers.
Listen to it here: Make me a captive, Lord
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