2 Timothy 1:1 – To and Through


Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…

Spurgeon revels in and reveals the believer's internal conversation in Morning and Evening, discerning, "if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it." "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God."

Paul, face what issues he will in Ephesus in 2 Timothy has that ballast in place and says so before the presenting problems begin. To be an apostle OF Christ in itself could encumber with anxieties if at every moment Paul was concerned about spoiling Christ's glorious brand, about distracting from what Christ did perfectly with whatever Paul does imperfectly.

Yet, even in the ensuing phrase, there is Paul's reassuring glance backward. Paul is here, at this point in life and ministry because God willed it. God brought him to this moment and all that involves, and God will bring him through it.

What contagious confidence with which to begin a letter or a day! Cannot we salt our conversation with such phrases, expressing sincere gratitude for God's will up to this point. When we refer back to major turning points in our lives, as Damascus Road was for Paul, can we not connect them to the goodness of His particular will for us? When we frame pedestrian worries or aggravations, the same ones which trouble the world, can we not discern and declare the will of God therein?

Our advice and admonishment takes on different character by this beginning confidence. Without it, those humans who hear us will be all too accustomed to being used for our purposes, as our latest prop, our latest sop to the ego ever needing reassurance. As we declare, in word, in act, and in facial expression that we are where we are by the will of God, those around us will be less concerned about getting sucked into the vortex of our need.

Those around us may ask, internally or externally, us to give account of the hope that is within us. Less guarded as relationships deepened over time, fellow sons of Adam and daughters of Eve may confide in us issues they find difficult to reconcile with the sovereign will of God. It is our privilege, then, to take those issues and those people before His throne.

Or, alternately, God's will can become a verbal patch for us. As similar religious phrasing was for King Saul, verbal shibboleths can become a substitute for a surrendered heart. We can be so quick, in fact, to reach for the sanctified Band-Aid that we use, "the will of God," as the quickest way out of addressing the gaping wound that other people trust us enough to show us.

If Christ prayed all night before calling the disciples, if His words did not cast aside the bruised reed or the smoking flax, shall we not SHOW our confidence in His will by abiding in relationships as Paul demonstrates with Timothy, by listening, interceding, and practically demonstrating the inexhaustible love which is bound up with that will?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Enthusiasm, Even If We Have To Work At It

On Fixer Upper, a real estate renovation show, perpetually upbeat contractor Chip Gaines faces the usual list of hassles incumbent in his work with the reflection that his father's greatest gift to him was to show him that work could be fun. Conversely, as I asked my usual questions of a new acquaintance in Bible study about what he looks for in new hires, he shared separately that enthusiasm can't be trained. I can't, he said, teach you to have fun at your job. The two insights are not necessarily contradictory. Chip's father had a prolonged impact on his attitude toward work at a time when Chip's child heart was as flexible as the body of an infant who can peacefully fall asleep in postures an adult would find uncomfortable if not crippling. The cafeteria manager spoke to the rest of us who either were not presented with that inspirational outlook or who have been distracted from that by work's more aggravating aspects. For those of us who don't come b
Read more

A Hobby Or A Habit?

Chris is a firefighter's firefighter.  He is passionate about the equipment. He is passionate about the people he gets to help. He is passionate about the honor of a career in the fire service. He is passionate enough to attend a training to sharpen his skills on his vacation time. When a college kid at the same training referred to firefighting as a hobby, Chris was not passionate in affirming that kind of divided enthusiasm. Would he have my back, Chris questioned? Would he rescue someone on the second floor if doing so involved in some personal risk?   Chris didn't have a chance to ask these questions or confront this attitude during the brief training. Perhaps someone else in a more long-standing relationship with this kid will have the opportunity fo model professionalism and to extend it to confrontation where necessary. If not, the progression is predictable, and extends far beyond firefighting. Observing a similarly nonchalant attitude in a young pitcher, Michael Lew
Read more

The Next "Why" Determines the Next "How"

"You don't remember me, do you?" is a loaded question. Often the answer is no. Saying this aloud is a confession that I don't prioritize people over my own thoughts. Nevertheless, this time the answer was a "yes" that was both emphatic and reluctant. This figure, tall, deep-voiced, and with a calm that could have been command presence was memorable, indeed. Twelve years ago, I hung my hopes on him in pumped full with the helium of heady optimism. As I was bringing my work gifts recognized, finally, and three years of experience into a new chapter in life in which I was also getting married, he stood in for a nice supporting role in my projected happily-ever-after narrative. He was a military veteran who, after retirement, had transitioned into the same human services field in which I worked. Since I was not physically built for military service, there was already, before I met him, masculine validation in the fact that we were going to be working toward the
Read more