The Invitation
"Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 2:3)Paul is in prison, soon to be executed. In the previous chapter he has just reaffirmed Timothy's calling to God's service and then recounted his struggles in Asia where many in the Church abandoned him. Now, he calls Timothy to come aboard. This is quite an invitation.
The meaning and weight of verse 1 seems much more significant in light of a call such as this. "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus" Paul said. Indeed, Paul understood first hand that the only way to endure hardship for the gospel of Jesus Christ to this degree is to rely on the grace found only in Christ Jesus. Paul is saying, Timothy if you are to do what you have been called to do by God, the only platform you have to stand on is that you have been given grace by the King of Kings -- do not try to stand on your own, do not rely on your own strength, your own talent, your own knowledge, your own pedigree, your own intellectual abilities...these will fail you when you are called to do kingdom work for a holy God. You have been given grace. This is your position before God, and it is your daily food for strength. Be strong is this.
Having established that "grace" is the platform on which Timothy should be firmly planted, Paul makes a strong call for Timothy to give everything for the sake of serving God. What a great example of Paul's desire to continue to disciple Timothy and pass on insight and application that he has learned in his many years of service. Instead of simply saying "Go work hard and give it your all", Paul expounds on this commissioning by giving several pictures of workers to help Timothy connect with what it really means to serve God, how to be focused, how to strive, how to endure. Given Paul's history, I get the impression Paul has specific experiences in mind that he's hoping to warn and prepare Timothy for. There is suffering, there is exhaustion, there are distractions, and there are setbacks that will try to disappoint you and try to drain you of your will, your strength. Be strong in grace, and know what you're here for.
The pictures are a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer.
The Soldier
"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." (2 Timothy 2:3-4)Soldiers make sacrifices for their duty and they suffer difficulties along the way. They fight for a cause. Paul reminds Timothy that he is no longer a civilian with civilian pursuits. He has enlisted as a soldier and is called to active duty. How many things of daily civilian life must a soldier give up in order to become a soldier in war time? I've seen a number of men and women called to active duty that have to put aside their family, their non-military careers, their hobbies, their friends, and all their at-home aspirations. If they are to serve to the degree that they would please their commanding officer, they certainly have to be willing to make the sacrifice of all these things. This is why not everyone is willing to enlist into service. Given this example from Paul and calling to Timothy, we need to ask ourselves if this is how see our lives. From daybreak to lights out, a soldier serves his commanding officer for the cause of the army.
Does your life look like a soldier in active duty, or is it so entangled in civilian pursuits that you are not able to be effective for the King?
The Athlete
"Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules."Paul used the example of an athlete several times his writings and it was a powerful image for his readers to consider. An athlete trains hard and performs harder. There is focus, there is hard work, and there is a goal. When the race starts, the athlete explodes with all the strength and all the energy he has -- nothing else matters. When he crosses the finish line, his body almost collapses with exhaustion having given everything in the race. Wouldn't it be a shame to reach the finish line only to find out he was disqualified due to a false start? Or worse, for a failed drug test which would have been a deliberate deception and breach of the rules. What prize is there for this athlete?
(2 Timothy 2:5)
Likewise, a person running the race daily for God can work hard, serve others, study the Bible, disciple people, and so on. But what happens to this person's ministry if they are not paying attention and they trip into a moral failure? What happens if they become deceitful or prideful? What fruit of righteousness will they see from their work? While there is forgiveness, and while God's grace can work in these situations for good, the direct result is that all the effort and energy put into this "race" is discounted. Whether it is accidental or intentional, an athlete running the race for God can be disqualified for ministry.
Paul was speaking to a disciple who is maturing in ministry and who understood the gospel at work in his life. So let's clarify something -- Paul was not saying we have to be perfect and never make mistakes if we are to be in God's service. We all stumble and fall short. In fact, if we haven't admitted this, we haven't found our need for the Savior. So what hope do we have to be effective for running the race for God if we can't obey all the rules perfectly? In the realm of the athlete, this is what training is for. Paul gives a wonderful answer to this in his letter to Titus:
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." (Titus 2:11-14)The grace of God is our trainer. He trains us, so that when he calls us to ministry we can run and not be disqualified, we can run and not bring shame to the one we're running for. Christ gave himself for us to redeem us, and purify us, and make us usable to do his ministry. Amazing grace.
The Farmer
In many respects, A picture of a farmer's work is a much different picture than that of an athlete or soldier. Consider that a soldier is a position of action and possibly heroism. The picture of an athlete may bring ideas of being in the spotlight, demonstrating explosive energy, achieving great feats that people will admire and talk about, and taking victory laps. The picture of a farmer is a very different pace and position. A farmer also works very hard, but it is a long and enduring kind of work that does not bring with it notoriety, heroic feats, or spotlights. It is not done in explosive action packed moments that can be remembered in highlight reels and used to encourage greater performance.A farmer, prepares the ground, plants the seed, waters and cares for the young plants. He has to be patient and wait on God to bring the harvest. Often the work is tedious, arduous, and with few or no accolades. Hours are long and sometimes alone. Farmers sometimes endure losing crops to disease, pestilence, or drought. This is the work of a farmer in ministry sowing seed and praying for a crop of righteousness that will bring glory to God.
How willing are we to do the arduous work to prepare the soil and sow seed even when there's no spotlight? How patient are we to endure when the hours are long and we see nothing emerging from the land yet? Are we able to press forward even without encouragement and cheering from others? Giving the example of a farmer brings a distinct picture of ministry that Paul wanted Timothy to relate to.
But the result is wonderful. As a young pastor in Ephesus, Timothy would understand and appreciate Paul's experience with a harvest from this kind of work. As the farmer, Timothy would be the first to see God's transforming work bear fruit in people's lives. In a harvest of this kind, Timothy would have disciples to invest into and new workers to serve with, to be in battle with, to run the race with. The work God had given him to do in Ephesus would grow and make a greater impact for the kingdom and God gets the glory.
The Purpose
There are many challenges, but there are so many encouraging rewards in service to our God along the way: to please the one who enlisted us, to win the prize, to receive the crop."Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything."These pictures were given to a young man from Paul who had lived a life full of experiences that brought wisdom about what it means to serve God. Paul desired to fellowship with Timothy about the challenges of ministry and encourage him to learn to be strong in the grace found only in Jesus. Evidently, he knew that Timothy may not have fully experienced each of these examples in his own life just yet, but he was confident that he would. So Paul concludes his description of these examples by telling Timothy to consider these things as he goes about his life serving Christ, so that he could continue to benefit from them as he learns.
(2 Timothy 2:7)
These examples both challenge me to strive harder and encourage me that the challenges faced in service to our God are part of God's calling and plan for us.
