Bible Diary - 2 Timothy 2:1-7
March 10, 2008
Just think about it. A man sent by God preached to a few thousand people in the Galilean hills 2000 years ago. The Apostles passed it on to the likes of Timothy. The four gospels were written while eyewitnesses to the resurrection were still alive, and here we are, more than 60 generations later, soldiering on to train yet another generation. Miraculously, the message stays the same and the results are the same.
Take your suffering as a good soldier
2:1 So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2:2 And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well. 2:3 Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2:4 No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him. 2:5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he will not be crowned as the winner unless he competes according to the rules. 2:6 The farmer who works hard ought to have the first share of the crops. 2:7 Think about what I am saying and the Lord will give you understanding of all this.
History shows that teaching others the gospel often involves suffering. For many, like Paul, it was extreme suffering. I like the soldiering metaphor, because the Army trains and prepares its recruits to expect and withstand suffering. Paul talks about Timothy’s share of suffering, noting that many callings are calls to suffer, citing the farmer and the athlete as examples.
The understanding the Lord gives throughout all of Scripture involves a paradox, that joy accompanies suffering. The martyrs learned this the hard way.
Dave, soldiering on.
-sdg-
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