Read with Me
2 Timothy 4:1-5 (HCSB)
I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Listen with Me
Paul has written Timothy some important instructions, but it is time to close this letter, which he realizes may very well be his final communication with his spiritual son. So, in these final paragraphs, his focus shifts to Timothy and to his specific ministry.
Paul understood that his end was in sight. He would be able to share the gospel among his guards and fellow prisoners, and to encourage any who said yes to Jesus. But he would not be able to travel to new regions, seeking out those who needed to hear the gospel, baptizing them and discipling them in their first steps in the kingdom. That job would now be left in the hands of the next generation of believers, men and women like Timothy.
But Paul does more than wish Timothy well. He charges him before God and Jesus to accomplish the task he has been given. That task begins with preaching the word. For some the word “preach” has come to have a negative connotation, as in, “Don’t preach at me!” or “I don’t mean to preach…”
But at its root, the word preach simply means to share the truth of God’s word, openly and completely so that it can be heard, and understood, and acted on. It is a positive activity that can bring light and life to all who hear and accept the message, and it should never be apologized for. If someone rejects the message, that is their prerogative, and their blood is on their own head. So, Timothy, like all believers, is charged to continue to share faithfully.
Timothy, as a leader in the Church, is also charged with guiding and directing the spiritual walk of those under his care. But he is not to do this harshly or sternly. In a very real sense, he has been made a spiritual father to those believers, just as Paul had been to him. And a parent should always help his or her children to grow and mature with great patience and careful instruction.
Paul understands that the role of spiritual parent is not easy or simple. It is often filled with frustration when those who are being taught reject instruction and even turn away from the instructor himself. When those times come, Paul wanted Timothy to be patient and to pursue persevere, realizing that those times were forecast to happen. Even when he sees some Christians turning to follow false teachers into myths and false theologies, Paul urges Timothy to persevere in what he has been called to. He is to keep going, proclaiming the gospel even when it is hard, even if his life is in danger. Paul is his strong model in this kind of perseverance. But Paul also wants him to realize that this strong commission to faithfully continue his mission is not coming from Paul, but from God himself.
Pray with Me
Father, someone once told me that being a Christian wasn’t for wimps. And that is true. Paul knew it, Timothy knew it, and even I have come to know it. A life in Your kingdom is a truly blessed life, but it is also the most challenging life imaginable. It is full of great opportunities, wonderful experiences of success, and even miracles. It can also be full of hair-raising brushes with danger and death. And it is full of sadness and frustration when people reject You and Your message or turn away from the truth back to darkness when the path becomes hard. Lord, help me to be true to my own God-given calling, my own divine commission to preach Your word, and to persevere all the way to the end of my days. Amen.