2 Timothy 3:10-17

2 Timothy 3:10-17

English Standard Version 

  TV preachers often make faith sound like a glorious triumph, and in the end, I most certainly agree with them -- the Kingdom of God will be exactly that, a glorious triumph over the powers of sin and death.  When I read some of the passages in Revelation that detail Jesus riding on a white horse like a conquering hero, coming to save and deliver us in a final victory, rescuing us from the powers that enslave us, I get really excited about the triumph of the Gospel!

  In the meantime, however there are some small details... 

  I doubt that anyone has preached at a revival that all who desire to live a Godly life will be persecuted... Many Christian leaders hide their persecutions and suffering, afraid that portraying their struggles honestly will scare away people who are curious about the faith.  

  Personally, I'm of the opinion that the more honest we can be with our failings, the more attractive the faith becomes.  We're all struggling in different ways, with COVID and with life in general.  Some of the things we struggled with pre-COVID probably don't seem as important now, but some of them have likely been amplified by COVID.  Every Christian on earth likely has a list of things they're dealing with, personally and physically and relationally and spiritually.  But God still triumphs, even in the midst of our struggles, even in the darkest valleys -- the light will still shine.  

  And so we turn to Scripture, all of it profitable for teaching us about ourselves, about God, and about what our relationships should look like.  It's not easy to read some of it... but it all weaves together, uniting to tell a story about a God desperately in love with God's creation and willing to do any and everything possible to redeem us.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

2 Timothy 3:10-17 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I hear from my kids quite a bit that life isn't fair.  Sometimes they're fighting over who gets to pick the songs in the car, sometimes they fight over who gets to brush their teeth first, and sometimes it's over who gets to use the vacuum cleaner.  Really important debates going on in our house!
  Paul, here, is addressing the church's sense that life isn't fair.  The church is watching their loved ones be persecuted, while the evil ones seem to escape without punishment.  (Someone once said that while history doesn't repeat itself, it often rhymes.) 
  Meanwhile, Paul exhorts the church to endure, and then reminds us that all of Scripture is helpful.  It's easy to pick out the parts we like and ignore the rest, but Paul reminds us that it is all there for a reason.  It teaches us, even the parts we don't like, and helps equip us to grow in Christ.  Those parts you struggle with?  Press in on those -- study how they fit together, what makes you uncomfortable, and why.  That's crucial -- Scripture should challenge us and make us examine who and how we are.  We can't get too comfortable.  The Holy Spirit is always at work, refining us, pulling us forward into the future God has in mind for us.  So press in.  Linger on those difficult passages, and trust that God is speaking through them.

2 Timothy 2:1-13

2 Timothy 2:1-13 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Here in Paul's second letter to Timothy, he lifts up athletes and farmers as models of how the church ought to work.
  Think of how challenging it is to be a farmer.  Seed is sown, but there's no guarantee that anything happens after that.  There has to be faith and trust that the seed will grow into something, that the water and the work will ultimately result in a harvest.
  In the same way, we place our trust in God to shepherd the church forward.  We trust that God will do astounding things through the church, and we stay faithful, enduring to the end, because we trust that God's work will triumph in the end.  We trust in the outcome, even though the process is uncertain, and it's hard, and there will be plenty of temptations to find easier ways.  Just as the athlete is tempted to sleep in rather than wake up early and train, the Christian is tempted to be spiritually lazy, to trust in things other than God, to forget about the long-term and opt for short-term wins.
  If we endure, we reign with him.  Day after day, make the small choices, the right choices, and trust in the God who remains faithful.

2 Timothy 1:3-7

2 Timothy 1:3-7 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  What or who do you remember constantly in your prayers?  God puts people into our lives.  Some are sources of joy and celebration, while others are there for us to support.  Often, these roles vary as we wander the path of life together -- the people we held up at one point are often there to hold us up later on.  There are people that are in our lives for us to pray for, and we are often blessed with people who lift us up in prayer.  If your only role in someone's life is to be in prayer for them, do you trust that God can do something with that?  Is that enough?  I remember a monk once saying that his role in the world is to intercede in prayer for others.  It's a fascinating concept that I bounce around in my head from time to time -- should he be doing more?  Or is that enough?  And why don't I just leave that decision up to God?
  May God bless us with the burden of prayer, that our lives may be caught up in something bigger than we are, that we may be used and see how God can utilize our humblest efforts to serve the kingdom.

2 Timothy 2:8-13

2 Timothy 2:8-13
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Christ has died, proving that there is no power able to bind him, and as the Word of God, he goes forward into the world, unbounded by human constraints.  Paul grasped this, and he understood that there was nothing the Roman empire could do to prevent the spread of the Gospel.  Every chain, every soldier, every sword the Romans possessed were powerless against the work of the Holy Spirit, spreading like wildfire from one life to the next.  They would try and stamp it out in one place only to see it rise somewhere else, and everywhere believers stood tall, confidant that the God who overcame death would elevate them to new life in Christ.
  So when you go out into the world today, whatever it is that awaits you, trust in two things. 
  The first is that nothing can stop God's power.  Trust that his grace is sufficient, that his purpose will be achieved, that the Gospel will spread.  Do not see the powers of the world as obstacles to the spreading of the Gospel, but rather recognize them as powerless, holding a place in the world until God returns in glory.
  The second is the comforting fact that God is forever faithful, even if we are faithless.  God's faithfulness is not determined by our sinfulness. When we get distracted and stray, God remains true.  His love is a constant, and we cannot change this.  May we rejoice in the love of God and the grace of our King!