I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:1-8
Few things are more precious than words born of love. They are usually the distillation of much thought and consideration. They are often saved up to be spoken at just the right time and place. The conveyor yearns to impart whatever they might have stored up in their heart in order to bring as much blessing as they can into the life of their beloved. That is the flavor of this ultra-personal letter from Paul to Timothy, his beloved and cherished spiritual son.
The yearning in this letter is accentuated by the fact that its author is awaiting execution. Paul’s circumstances no doubt brought all his considerable intellect and heart into razor sharp focus for what he needed to say; “I solemnly charge you (by practically everything that Paul deemed holy) to preach the word.” Note; To Paul, preaching included; reproofs, rebukes, exhortations and instruction, all done with great patience in both scheduled and impromptu situations.
Spiritual father’s have been further down the trail than their sons. Paul has seen diabolical, Satanic efforts to dilute the words and teachings of Jesus, through things as innocent looking as myths and traditions; those aberrations of the fallen imagination that become lodged in individuals and cultures, influencing the discernment of truth and reality. These “imaginations” which we are told must be “cast down”, lure people off the narrow trail on which Christ would lead them. All of these offshoots from the main path lead people to bad endings in their lives. Paul has seen this and has set his heart on finishing well. And, as a father, he is jealous that Timothy finish his race as well in full stride.
In this race that we are running, what is it that separates winners and losers; runners and plodders; passionate ones from indifferent ones? I believe Paul’s words allow us to peek into his heart for our answer. Paul was focused on the prize; a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to him on that day. Paul was motivated to endure hardship and await his death crossing the finish line) because he was focused on a reward he felt far outweighed the modest costs he had incurred. Is this crown that is to be awarded by God Himself, serving as motivation to you to run wholeheartedly toward the finish?
It strikes me that the scriptures themselves are much like Paul’s letter to Timothy. They are God’s letter to us, His beloved. They represent the distillation of thoughts that He had stored up and voiced at just the right time and place for our thorough redemption. God’s great heart and considerable intellect were brought into razor sharp focus in His Word so that we too will stay in the race and cross our finish lines.
Father, we invite your Spirit to awaken us to see where we are in our race. We ask that You would alert us to any cultural myths we have bought into that may account for our indifference. And may You also awaken us to your solemn charge to share Your words in living, loving and natural ways to those around us; to those we are being charged to love and encourage. Help us to find our stride. Amen.