2 Timothy 1-4
January 1, 2015

First day of the new year, and I am reading about Paul encouraging Timothy to be truly transformed.
There are several concepts that I want to remember today:
1.  Suffering is part of the Gospel.   Paul says that if we choose to be Christians there will be some suffering involved.  He doesn't say what, or how much...and in his day there was a great deal of persecution.  Maybe this particular verse was meant for Paul's day and not for ours, but it certainly seems contemporary.
2.  The Gospel will always be opposed.  There will always be someone like Alexander, or Jannes and Jambres who either incorrectly interpret what the Bible is teaching, or deny it outright.   Putting up with them without becoming angry or irritated is probably part of the suffering.   It is difficult to stay focused and motivated when someone who is otherwise very intelligent and well spoken chooses not to see the truth of the Gospel.   It is especially discouraging when they were a close friend in the first place.
3.  There must be a transformation in our behavior if we truly believe.   This is the one that really impacts me today.   Paul spends most of his time on this thought.  He encourages Timothy to stay the course in Chapter 1, then beginning in Chapter 2 with the passage about being a good workman he shifts his focus to the transformation of the believer.    And if you read Paul's description of the transformed person, it isn't a something unattainable.  This really reads to me as Paul saying "In a spiritual sense, Christians need to grow up"  Here's what I mean:  When we become Christians we accept that there is a level of existence beyond the physical realm with Jesus Christ as the center.   (some accept another realm, but not Jesus.  I am not referring to them)   When Christ is realized, it's kind of like growing up.   When I lived at home I didn't think about how much anything cost, or where it came from.  Everything was provided and I didn't care.  Therefore, I invested myself in having fun, and complaining about petty things,etc.    But when I grew up and moved out on my own, I realized that in order to eat I would have to earn a living.  And if I wanted to be married, or have children I would have to provide for them.  I couldn't continue to think and act the way I had been and still be an adult.
Paul is saying that once we accept Christ we need to grow up.  To change.  Accept the idea of life after death, judgment after life and reward for certain behavior.  Set aside the evil desires of youth.   They are evil because they focus on me, and not on God.   I am gradually realizing that my greatest enemy is myself, not others.   My desires are the ones that most often prevent me from doing what the Bible says I should, and what my intellect tells me I should be doing.    Learned behavior is hard to flee, but Paul encourages us to make it happen.

Nothing Paul says is impossible.  It could be difficult, and it will probably be unpopular (most of the "first world" countries make self indulgence a priority) but it has happen in order for the message to truly take root, and for any of us to gain favor with God.


PR