Civilian Affairs
As I
contemplate the opening of this second chapter, I am left asking the question:
what is the work of the Christian? I’ll
confess that verse 4 started this train of thought. No soldier ever gets involved in civilian
affairs. That is really profound. I immediately have to ask myself, am I truly
a soldier in the Lord’s Army? For those
of you who like less militant verbiage, am I really a priest serving in the
presence of the Lord? If so, then whose
work am I really about? Do I get caught
up in civilian – or from this perspective, worldly– affairs? How many of my words, thoughts, and deeds
really have nothing to do with God’s agenda?
Paul’s
next two analogies force me further down these lines of thought. No athlete is crowned unless he competes by
the rules. What rules? Well, I seem to remember Jesus giving us a
basic set of instructions in Matthew 28:18-20.
“Go make disciples - into the whole world. Baptize – in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey – all
that I have commanded you.” There are
three simple rules, and the athlete will not be crowned unless he competes by
the rules.
Paul then adds
that it is the hard-working farmer who deserves a first share of the crop. What is the fruit of our faith? Eternal life.
The hard-working farmer – notice again the emphasis on our response to
God’s grace – is the one who gets the first share.
If we put
all three of these images together we can see something fairly profound. If we want to receive any fruit, we need to
work. If we want to receive the crown at
the end of the race, we need to compete {work} by His rules. If we want to be a part of His kingdom, we
need to be involved in His agenda and not the secular agenda of the world.
Agenda
What is
this agenda? Well, I love how the
portion of the Great Commission matches up with what Paul says to Timothy in
the opening few verses of this chapter.
“Entrust what you have heard to faithful people who will be able to
teach others also.” In other words: make
disciples. Don’t just make disciples;
make disciples who can make other disciples.
Besides dying on the cross for our salvation – which you and I cannot do
even if we desired it – this idea of disciple-making was Jesus’ primary goal in
His coming to this earth. If it was His
primary goal for imitation, should it not also be the primary goal for me and
you?
The Word Endures
In fact,
to reinforce this idea Paul turns to it again in verses 8-13. The Word of God is not bound and it cannot be
kept bound. It will endure mankind! Therefore we do everything so that as many as
possible will find themselves with the eternal hope of everlasting life in the
salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ.
If we die, we live. If we endure,
we reign. If we deny, we will be
denied. If we are faithless, He will be
faithful.
That last
one is confusing. If we are faithless,
He will be faithful. It is both a
warning and a threat. To those of us who
are currently pursuing Him, it is a warning to keep pursuing Him. If we stop, then He will have to be faithful
to His righteousness and judge us accordingly.
To those who are not pursuing Him, it is a threat. He will be faithful to His righteousness and
judge those who are not pursuing Him according to their works.
A Return to Exhortation
After a
short talk about clean vessels and unclean vessels in God’s house, Paul turns
back to the exhortation of Timothy. Paul
tells Timothy to flee the youthful passions.
I love that I chose to read this letter immediately after the Proverbs –
can’t you hear Paul’s familiarity with the Proverbs ringing out in this
advice? Flee the fleeting youthful
passions and choose wisdom, Timothy!
Don’t get yourself involved in foolish quarrels, Timothy; choose
wisdom! Rebuke others, Timothy; because
the godly person appreciates godly rebuke!
As we end
this chapter we once more pick up on the undercurrent of this chapter. In fact, it is the theme of Paul’s whole
life. Live your life so as to enable
others to see the glory of God and the error of their own ways. Speak and teach and preach so that others
might escape the snare of this world and its prince: the devil. This is a holy calling. We’re not in it just to save our own
necks. We’re in it to do whatever God
desires through us towards the saving of the necks of the people around us.
Yesterday
a good spiritual friend shared a link to an author/speaker/publisher/literary
agent that she is going to hear speak in a bit of time. His name is Michael Hyatt. While I was reading the post to which she
shared, I came across this quote:
Your company, and your
life, is not about you! This can be the hardest lesson we ever learn. Our lives
must point to a purpose greater than our own well-being. People will rarely
align with your self-interest, but they will align for a common goal.
If that
doesn’t fall right in line with 2 Timothy 2, I don’t know what does. My life is not about me. It is about a higher purpose. It is about being whatever God needs me to be
so that the people of this world might see Him more clearly. Who’s with me in that common goal?
<><
Civilian Affairs
As I
contemplate the opening of this second chapter, I am left asking the question:
what is the work of the Christian? I’ll
confess that verse 4 started this train of thought. No soldier ever gets involved in civilian
affairs. That is really profound. I immediately have to ask myself, am I truly
a soldier in the Lord’s Army? For those
of you who like less militant verbiage, am I really a priest serving in the
presence of the Lord? If so, then whose
work am I really about? Do I get caught
up in civilian – or from this perspective, worldly– affairs? How many of my words, thoughts, and deeds
really have nothing to do with God’s agenda?
Paul’s
next two analogies force me further down these lines of thought. No athlete is crowned unless he competes by
the rules. What rules? Well, I seem to remember Jesus giving us a
basic set of instructions in Matthew 28:18-20.
“Go make disciples - into the whole world. Baptize – in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey – all
that I have commanded you.” There are
three simple rules, and the athlete will not be crowned unless he competes by
the rules.
Paul then adds
that it is the hard-working farmer who deserves a first share of the crop. What is the fruit of our faith? Eternal life.
The hard-working farmer – notice again the emphasis on our response to
God’s grace – is the one who gets the first share.
If we put
all three of these images together we can see something fairly profound. If we want to receive any fruit, we need to
work. If we want to receive the crown at
the end of the race, we need to compete {work} by His rules. If we want to be a part of His kingdom, we
need to be involved in His agenda and not the secular agenda of the world.
Agenda
What is
this agenda? Well, I love how the
portion of the Great Commission matches up with what Paul says to Timothy in
the opening few verses of this chapter.
“Entrust what you have heard to faithful people who will be able to
teach others also.” In other words: make
disciples. Don’t just make disciples;
make disciples who can make other disciples.
Besides dying on the cross for our salvation – which you and I cannot do
even if we desired it – this idea of disciple-making was Jesus’ primary goal in
His coming to this earth. If it was His
primary goal for imitation, should it not also be the primary goal for me and
you?
The Word Endures
In fact,
to reinforce this idea Paul turns to it again in verses 8-13. The Word of God is not bound and it cannot be
kept bound. It will endure mankind! Therefore we do everything so that as many as
possible will find themselves with the eternal hope of everlasting life in the
salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ.
If we die, we live. If we endure,
we reign. If we deny, we will be
denied. If we are faithless, He will be
faithful.
That last
one is confusing. If we are faithless,
He will be faithful. It is both a
warning and a threat. To those of us who
are currently pursuing Him, it is a warning to keep pursuing Him. If we stop, then He will have to be faithful
to His righteousness and judge us accordingly.
To those who are not pursuing Him, it is a threat. He will be faithful to His righteousness and
judge those who are not pursuing Him according to their works.
A Return to Exhortation
After a
short talk about clean vessels and unclean vessels in God’s house, Paul turns
back to the exhortation of Timothy. Paul
tells Timothy to flee the youthful passions.
I love that I chose to read this letter immediately after the Proverbs –
can’t you hear Paul’s familiarity with the Proverbs ringing out in this
advice? Flee the fleeting youthful
passions and choose wisdom, Timothy!
Don’t get yourself involved in foolish quarrels, Timothy; choose
wisdom! Rebuke others, Timothy; because
the godly person appreciates godly rebuke!
As we end
this chapter we once more pick up on the undercurrent of this chapter. In fact, it is the theme of Paul’s whole
life. Live your life so as to enable
others to see the glory of God and the error of their own ways. Speak and teach and preach so that others
might escape the snare of this world and its prince: the devil. This is a holy calling. We’re not in it just to save our own
necks. We’re in it to do whatever God
desires through us towards the saving of the necks of the people around us.
Yesterday
a good spiritual friend shared a link to an author/speaker/publisher/literary
agent that she is going to hear speak in a bit of time. His name is Michael Hyatt. While I was reading the post to which she
shared, I came across this quote:
Your company, and your
life, is not about you! This can be the hardest lesson we ever learn. Our lives
must point to a purpose greater than our own well-being. People will rarely
align with your self-interest, but they will align for a common goal.
If that
doesn’t fall right in line with 2 Timothy 2, I don’t know what does. My life is not about me. It is about a higher purpose. It is about being whatever God needs me to be
so that the people of this world might see Him more clearly. Who’s with me in that common goal?
<><
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