II Timothy 2: 1-7
Paul is encouraging Timothy before he leaves the body to be present with the Lord.
(1) You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Paul considers him to be his son in the Lord, and it is in Christ that we find strength.
(2) The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Paul is handing the baton to Timothy, and instructs him to pass it on to others, who will be faithful and true, to in turn pass it on to others, through the ages, like a relay race. We call this networking, and it works because it is God's plan. This is what God had Moses write the people, to teach the next generation (Deuteronomy 11: 19), and Paul is applying this principle here, too.
It only takes one generation to drop the baton.
(3) Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
He again tells Timothy to expect and be willing to suffer (as in 1: 8), and places it in a military context.
(4) No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
Anyone who is on assignment in the military is not thinking about his affairs back home, but is concentrating on the mission, to make it successful.
(5) Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.
Then he uses another framework, as an athletic competition. To participate in the Games you must qualify and perform following all the rules that are set for the competition, to not be disqualified from participating.
(6) The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.
Then he changes the picture again, to an agrarian one. The farmer who does all the work of producing the crop should receive benefit from what has been produced.
(7) Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Paul uses these different illustrations to picture different aspects of our work as Christians and as leaders in God's church.
He tells him to consider what he's told him, to think about it, and pray about it, to let the Holy Spirit teach him the applications of Scripture. God wrote His word in a kind of code that takes His Holy Spirit as the key to unlocking understanding of it, how it all works together, and what to expect so we're not surprised or shocked at what is happening all around us.
We are living in exciting times. As I see things, we are in the Last Days of the End Times that began with Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension and the Day of Pentecost. Now we're beginning to face the chaos and persecution He said would come.
So be strong, people, in the Spirit of the Lord, and be prepared to stand firm against the onslaught of the evil storms brewing and building even now.
O my Father, please help us to be strengthened in the knowledge of what we will be facing soon. Enlarge our perception of Your care for us in protecting us from Your wrath being poured out all around us, trusting in You to have put what wrath we deserve onto Christ Jesus as our Savior. Keep our feet firmly planted, that we will not be moved or shaken in the midst of all the turmoil.
O Father, let Your peace flood our minds, to keep us steady, that the world will know that only You are God.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, do come quickly, Lord Jesus!
