The second letter that we have from Paul to young Timothy has one of the gentlest openings in the scriptures,"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God--whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did--when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you." 2 Timothy 1:1-5 NRSV. I appreciate the intimacy between Paul and his son in the faith, Timothy.
I have a handful of young people that are not biologically my sons and daughter, but they are sons and daughters to me in the faith. What a privilege to be allowed to mentor and guide the futures of people and to be loved!
This first chapter is full of fatherly advice about being strong in the face of conflict and persecution. It is one thing to endure persecution and hardships, it is quite another to watch our loved ones suffer. I can feel the heart of Paul when he says, "For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him." 2 Timothy 1:11-12 NRSV.
I will focus today on praying for my "children in the faith", and I will remind myself of the faithfulness of the Lord I have trusted myself and these precious ones to.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Hey there Bill,
I think I could be in your son of faith pool, right? I'd be honored.
Sara and I talked a lot about the persecution Paul faced as he was in the jail cell when we read this. I wonder if he was embarrassed to be in jail? It doesn't seem right that he's in jail for his faith, but how great it would be for him personally, especially the way he thought about the second coming of Christ. He'd probably hope that he came while he was in jail-so that he could feel like his jail time came just at the right time.
I imagine myself as a student being taken into the principals office for being a Christian. Then the other students would walk by and see me in there, begin talking about how I was in trouble - wonder if that happened with Paul?
I've been thinking a lot lately in the past couple chapters about the "lip service" given to the coming of Christ-That is all we're giving it, and yet if we change that, it seems to challenge our whole way of life, economy, etc. Would this whole economy thing that's going on right now happen if we weren't so worried about the future. I'd say not.
Pray for you too Bill. I appreciate it so much. Things are going great!
God bless, all!
Marshall
Yes Marshall, I consider you a son in the faith and I am so very proud of you!
When I was in college the young men around me often greeted eachother with "Maranatha" greek for "Come quickly Lord!". I confess that I often felt phony about that because I was not as anxious for Christ to return as I pretended to be.
To live ready for Christ's return is life changing.
Maranatha (for real now!)
Bill
I know there are times when I have felt like you felt with those boys in College. When I'm on fire, as I'd like to be, I would love to say "maranatha." I need to work on having that in my heart all the time - stop spending so much time worrying about the rest of my life on this world and worry about doing the best things I can do for my faith and my brothers in faith!
Thanks Bill
Marsh
I like the part especially about Eunice and Lois - something new for the baby church - a faith cherished through generations.
Post a Comment