In today’s passage, Paul was imprisoned for a second time in Rome, and he was writing to Timothy, his spiritual mentee, who was thousands of miles away sharing the Gospel message about Christ in Ephesus. Paul knew his death was coming soon, and he wanted to speak encouragement to Timothy who he considered his “true son in faith” (1 Tim 1:2). Think about Paul’s situation for a moment, he was imprisoned for sharing the Gospel message about Christ alongside of murderers, yet all he could think about was making sure that Timothy continued to share the Good News about Jesus long after he was gone. The best part is that the Romans believed that by putting Paul’s physical body in prison they could stop the spread of Jesus’s Message. But here we are, about 1,958 years later, learning from Paul and hopefully listening to his guidance about being “A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus” because every single one of us will one day physically die, but the Word of God can never be imprisoned, and it lives on (as our spiritual presences do) for all eternity with Christ.
Paul begins today’s letter with, “Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus (v.1).”
Read that again but this time insert your name and either son or daughter:” __________, my dear (son/daughter), be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus (v.1).”
Paul knew what it meant to “suffer” for his faith in Christ as he was chained like a criminal for it, but his message seeks for us to know that although we will suffer for our faith in Christ, we must never lay our faith in Christ down. We are to remain confident in our faith and hopeful in our trust that the Word can never be chained or imprisoned as He lives for all eternity.
How do we endure? Paul tells us in the beginning of his letter that we are to be loyal like a soldier (to Jesus), disciplined like an athlete (to His Word), and work hard like a farmer (for His Kingdom) (v.3-6). He goes on to remind us about Jesus’s path as a descendant of King David up until His resurrection. His path was paved for Him, and He was called to walk it out. The same is true for you and me, we are not called to carve our own path, God has our path carved out for us, and all we have to do is follow Jesus and walk it out because through our faith and salvation in Christ brings eternal life and glory with Him.
2 Timothy 2:8-13 (NLT)
8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
11 This is a trustworthy saying:
If we die with him,
we will also live with him.
12 If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
13 If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.
Prayer: Jesus, I want to be a good soldier for You so You can use me to help further spread Your Gospel message and to keep growing Your Kingdom. Help me to endure suffering for You, to not be afraid, to not be embarrassed, but to stand tall and firmly rooted in You. I long to spend eternity with You, Jesus, and I want all of humanity to choose You. I ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.