2 Timothy 2:1-9 Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the faith. In these verses he admonishes Timothy to remain faithful to Jesus Christ. In Chapter one of 2 Timothy Paul brings up the apparent "falling away" of some of the leadership within the household of faith, namely Phygelus and Hermogenes. These two Asiatics deserted Paul and it causes him to reaffirm Timothy and make sure that his"son" doesn't have an "affair" with the world and all the civilian matters that can take you away from your purpose in Christ. Civilian matters are important but should never be a priority for believers who are serving Christ. The more we fill our life and time with everything but Jesus, the more it takes us away from our purpose as believers. By the way, children should never be used as excuses for not serving and being faithful to Christ. In our many travels in life Andra and I kept our children in mind when making decisions about where to serve the Lord but they never took the place of what God wanted us to do. Parents that use their children as excuses for not serving the Lord need to remember who gave you those children and what God expects your priorities to be for them. Your commitment to lifting up Jesus will be seen by them and their love and commitment to Christ will be a reflection of how much you value serving God faithfully. I never wanted to put that "bulls eye" on my children of letting their wants take the place of my calling. I always felt it was better to show them Jesus and then let their faith grow up seeing the ministry for what itis, a life of sacrifice. The writer of Proverbs kept all this in perspective in Proverbs 19:20-12 Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Yes, it IS all about Jesus after all. Now comes the focus of Paul's instructions to Timothy in verses 3-4 "3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 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." Do you see that word "suffer?" The one's who fell away were not willing to suffer for Christ any more and their desertion affected the Lord's work. Paul warned Timothy to not let that happen to him and his commitment. He told him to stay away from "civilian affairs." Those affairs are very powerful and many times we will find we are too involved in them when we give every excuse to be a part of them, including not focusing and doing ministry as we should. End result - FAILURE!!
I guess we have to weigh the effects and if it is worth it. The Asiatics didn't have the ministry pressure any more and they could get on with their "normal" lives. The only problem is the life of a believer is everything but normal. I have had people ask me what I would want as a minister if it was up to me. I really have to think about that but it would probably be that I could stay in one community and have a good home base to build on. I would invest in a home and stay long enough for it to actually make money instead of lose it, like we have almost always done when we agreed to go to a new location and then try to sell our home. I would get my little nest egg in the bank and have a church where everybody knows my name and thinks of me as the home town boy. But that was not the lot God chose for me. Mine was to live a life where I had to really stay open to going wherever God led, even when it was not where I necessarily wanted to go, but felt it was God's direction for me. Some of those decisions might have been mistakes but I went about my work for the Lord with as good an attitude as possible. I didn't desert the Lord when the going got too tough because my standard was filled with civilian type reasons for deserting. I just didn't entangle myself in those aspirations because I didn't believe I could. Everyday life wasn't my God. God was my God and his call and purpose became mine, at the expense of my goals and my families goals. Family is very important, but can never be more important than the Lord in my life. Here is how Jesus said it in Matthew 10:37-39 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who has found his [a]life will lose it, and he who has lost his [b]life for My sake will find it. I would have loved to be able to be at family functions and funerals, but many times I was too far away to attend and it always hurt my heart to have to miss, but thus it is the life of a disciple. There was a point in my life when I said "this is it" and I jumped of the cliff of indifference and jump into the space of total commitment. It has been worth it all, but it doesn't mean I don't think about what "could have been." No regrets!!
I think back to Saving Private Ryan and the part where old James Ryan asks his wife "Tell me I have led a good life. To which she says "what?" Then he says "Tell me I'm a good man." To which she says "You are." I hope I will never be considered one who deserts, but keeps on serving as a "good" soldier of the cross. There have been many sacrifices along the way, but none will ever match the sacrifice that was made for me on the cross of Calvary. So are you looking at jumping of the cliff of indifference. Have you already jumped? Are you going to jump? JUMP....JUMP.....JUMP......It's not suicide, but it is sold out commitment. No half commitment to the world and to the Lord. Full out commitment to the gospel as only a good soldier would do. It's worth it!!
The Pilgrimage continues....
David Warren
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