2 Timothy 1:2 – Favor Follows Identity
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, a beloved son:
Grace…
"What is 'grace'?" This is Thomas Merton's query in his memoir Seven Storey Mountain. He answers, "It is God's own life, shared by us. God’s life is Love. Deus caritas est. By grace we are able to share in the infinitely selfless love of Him Who is such pure actuality that He needs nothing and therefore cannot conceivably exploit anything for selfish ends. Indeed," extends Merton, "outside of Him there is nothing, and whatever exists by His free gift of its being, so that one of the notions that is absolutely contradictory to the perfection of God is selfishness."
Under this examination of grace's splendor, it is particularly magnanimous and magnificent that Paul's grace toward Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:2 follows Paul's declaration of sonship over his disciple. Paul has established his identity, Timothy's identity, and the nature of the relationship between them. Gifts then flow accordingly. Did not Jesus say that even the spiritually insensitive in the world know how to give good gifts to their children? These gifts, beginning with the unmerited favor of grace one toward another, are spelled out, though, that we might see and marvel at the total nature of the Spirit's revolution.
There is a sense in which the word son could be used as a formality. In racial contexts, in fact, it has reeked of condescension and manipulation. Grown men referred to as son are being classified as children by their erstwhile peers, denied status in the image of God with the agency He imparts to each individual subject directly to Him. Paul, however, accords this status readily, beginning with grace. As God has been gracious to Paul, Paul is going to start the conversation, the addressing of the issue of the day, making the air between him and the person to whom he is speaking fragrant with the aroma of Heaven, the aroma of grace.
With so many using nice words for foul deeds, extending a false intimacy to men and women in order to use them for their own purposes, how can we make sincere grace the most obvious the most quickly? Paul has given us some insight already in 2 Timothy. He carries the scent of Heaven's grace himself, having declared immediately that what he is, he is by the will of God according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. There is not one status for him and an inferior, dependent one for his "son." No, grow a while, hit the appropriate markers, learn the secret passwords, and one day I might treat you as an equal. Paul is leading Timothy in the way he himself is walking.
Fresh from the mountain or the tabernacle as God reveals some aspect of Himself to us, and perhaps as He convicts us of some area in which He will lead us to become more like him, shall we not be equally, humbly transparent to those over whom He has given us some influence? If we are, we begin to build trust that we are mutually being parented by God in the way that God pledged toward Solomon by way of David. If, however, we don't show that childlike humility, the labels we try to affix to those we would lead, disciple, and sometimes confront won't stick – at least willingly.
Grace also comes in particular denominations as the individuals we would influence need it. Jesus perceived that the members of the crowd who followed after His teaching were sublimating hunger to the extent that they might drop on the road for having ignored the body to feed the spirit. His grace toward them, the way He favored them, in that moment, was to make sure they got fed. Would we teach and shape? We must often do so by serving, and then showing how to serve. We would not replace Christ as the Bread of Life or Living Water with bodily substitutes which only temporarily satisfy, but these means of ministry can begin to build an authentic relationship. They can counter the natural guardedness with which any who have been in the world approach new influences.
2 To Timothy, a beloved son:
Grace…
"What is 'grace'?" This is Thomas Merton's query in his memoir Seven Storey Mountain. He answers, "It is God's own life, shared by us. God’s life is Love. Deus caritas est. By grace we are able to share in the infinitely selfless love of Him Who is such pure actuality that He needs nothing and therefore cannot conceivably exploit anything for selfish ends. Indeed," extends Merton, "outside of Him there is nothing, and whatever exists by His free gift of its being, so that one of the notions that is absolutely contradictory to the perfection of God is selfishness."
Under this examination of grace's splendor, it is particularly magnanimous and magnificent that Paul's grace toward Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:2 follows Paul's declaration of sonship over his disciple. Paul has established his identity, Timothy's identity, and the nature of the relationship between them. Gifts then flow accordingly. Did not Jesus say that even the spiritually insensitive in the world know how to give good gifts to their children? These gifts, beginning with the unmerited favor of grace one toward another, are spelled out, though, that we might see and marvel at the total nature of the Spirit's revolution.
There is a sense in which the word son could be used as a formality. In racial contexts, in fact, it has reeked of condescension and manipulation. Grown men referred to as son are being classified as children by their erstwhile peers, denied status in the image of God with the agency He imparts to each individual subject directly to Him. Paul, however, accords this status readily, beginning with grace. As God has been gracious to Paul, Paul is going to start the conversation, the addressing of the issue of the day, making the air between him and the person to whom he is speaking fragrant with the aroma of Heaven, the aroma of grace.
With so many using nice words for foul deeds, extending a false intimacy to men and women in order to use them for their own purposes, how can we make sincere grace the most obvious the most quickly? Paul has given us some insight already in 2 Timothy. He carries the scent of Heaven's grace himself, having declared immediately that what he is, he is by the will of God according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. There is not one status for him and an inferior, dependent one for his "son." No, grow a while, hit the appropriate markers, learn the secret passwords, and one day I might treat you as an equal. Paul is leading Timothy in the way he himself is walking.
Fresh from the mountain or the tabernacle as God reveals some aspect of Himself to us, and perhaps as He convicts us of some area in which He will lead us to become more like him, shall we not be equally, humbly transparent to those over whom He has given us some influence? If we are, we begin to build trust that we are mutually being parented by God in the way that God pledged toward Solomon by way of David. If, however, we don't show that childlike humility, the labels we try to affix to those we would lead, disciple, and sometimes confront won't stick – at least willingly.
Grace also comes in particular denominations as the individuals we would influence need it. Jesus perceived that the members of the crowd who followed after His teaching were sublimating hunger to the extent that they might drop on the road for having ignored the body to feed the spirit. His grace toward them, the way He favored them, in that moment, was to make sure they got fed. Would we teach and shape? We must often do so by serving, and then showing how to serve. We would not replace Christ as the Bread of Life or Living Water with bodily substitutes which only temporarily satisfy, but these means of ministry can begin to build an authentic relationship. They can counter the natural guardedness with which any who have been in the world approach new influences.
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