Theological Commentary: Click Here
Paul’s
second letter to Timothy is written during a low spot in Paul’s life. The churches in Asia – what we would call
Turkey today – have begun to turn against him.
We know about the struggle in Galatia and how the Jews began to
infiltrate and teach that unless the converts followed Jewish laws like
circumcision and kosher that they wouldn’t really be pleasing to God. I remember back to how Paul had Timothy
circumcised when he joined Paul and I can’t help if Paul regrets that decision
and the precedent that it made.
That being
said, I love Paul’s focus. He tells
Timothy to rejoice. In the midst of the
persecution, Paul says to rejoice. When
his world is crashing around him, Paul tells people to celebrate. It is an incredible focus.
The second
thing that we hear Paul tell Timothy is to not be ashamed. It is very easy to doubt when people turn
against you. It is easy to change one’s
story when we start to make enemies. Who
wouldn’t want to make friends instead of enemies? Paul turns to Timothy and makes sure that he
understands to stay strong in the faith rather than pursue the popular
decision.
This takes
us back to where Paul left of in chapter 6 of 1 Timothy. We shouldn’t be pursuing wealth or popularity
of ease of lifestyle. We should be
pursuing the truth. We should be after
righteousness. When the chips are down,
we should have what it takes to stay focused on God and join Him in His work.
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