Insight Into the Scriptures
Today we read the second letter to Timothy. 2 Timothy was written about 2 years after the first letter. This letter was to Timothy, these are Paul's final instructions and words of encouragement.
Blessings
When you read scripture, to really understand the text, it is helpful to understand the writer's situation. If you understand what they are going through, you can relate better to them.
This is a very personal letter to Timothy. You can tell the kind of relationship that Paul and Timothy had, Paul refers to Timothy as "My beloved son." (1:2) I guess that Timothy was the son that Paul never had.
While reading this letter you will sense that Paul is very close to death, he knows it, and is at peace with it. He feels deserted and alone. I can imagine that he would love to see Timothy once more. (4:9) These are the last words of Paul.
2 Timothy 2:3-6
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
Thought for the Day
As you read this letter from Paul, read it as if he is talking to you. These are his final instructions before he dies. In his last words, Paul gives us 3 examples of how to endure our Christian walk with Christ. So, the day that you return home, you can hold your head high when you are held accountable.
Paul uses the first example of that of a solider. A solider serves one commander (Jesus) He is dedicated to his service, not afraid of the battle, he endures rigorous training so that when he is faced with a battle he will know how to defeat the enemy. There is a spiritual battle raging around us that we cannot see with our eyes. As it says in Ephesians 6 we are to put on the Armour of God. We need to spend time reading the Bible each day, so that when a battle arises with satan, we will have the knowledge and skills to defeat him
The second comparison is to that of a Farmer. A farmer is a hard worker and is very patient. He plants a little seed and nurtures it until it produces fruit. We as followers of Christ must be dedicated to hard work, we are farmers planting little seeds in non believers all over. Some seeds grow quickly while some take a very long time to produce fruit. The seeds that take longer to produce, must be given lots of TLC and encouragement.
The third example is that of an athlete. An athlete is dedicated to their sport. It would be a lifestyle where they love what they do, while getting paid to do it. Our payment would be treasures in Heaven. They work hard for perfection. I would say that most athlete's have a mentor that they try and follow the footsteps of, ours would of Jesus. They would not be afraid of making mistakes, if a mistake is made they would evaluate their performance and improve the next time.
I hope that some of these examples brought to light areas that you can celebrate and some that you could improve on.
No comments:
Post a Comment