Thru the Bible—2 Timothyনমুনা

# Farmer, Athlete, Soldier, Son The second chapter of 2 Timothy describes seven pictures of the duty and life of a believer. A Son. Timothy was Paul’s spiritual son since it was under Paul’s ministry that this young man turned to Christ. But it meant more than that. A child of God is born into God’s family through his faith in Christ (see 1 Peter 1:23). Timothy is in the family of God and is a child of God. The same is true for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. To all who believe, Paul says, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.“ We are saved by grace, and now we are to live by the grace of God and be strong in it. Paul encouraged Timothy to take the lessons he learned from Paul and teach them to others who will, in turn, teach others, etc. This is the way God moves even today. A good soldier. No soldier in active service gets entangled in the ordinary business affairs of civilian life; he avoids them to please the one who enlisted him to serve. Imagine a soldier in wartime telling his sergeant, “Sir, I’m sorry to have to leave, but I have to go to the DMV, and then I have a date with my girlfriend. I just won’t be able to be here for the battle tonight.“ Many Christians are trying to fight like that today. Accept that you’re a soldier. Endure hardness. The Christian life is a real spiritual battlefield where battles are fought, won, and lost daily. An athlete. Paul challenges us to run the Christian race so that the One who is at the end of the race—the Lord Jesus—would be able to reward him, saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant“ (see Matthew 25:21). We have to play by the rules. Forget the gimmickry today that condenses Christianity into a little course or a few rules. God gave us sixty-six books, and each one of them is very important. It takes the composite picture to give us the mind and the Word of God. An athlete can’t cut the corner of a racetrack. Neither can a baseball player run by second base without touching it. We are to study the whole Bible. A farmer. The believer is also like a farmer who tills the field and sows the seed of the Word of God. After the farmer has done that, there will be a harvest. We die with Christ when we receive Him as our Savior. His death becomes our death. And if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. We are identified with Him and raised with Him in new life. This means that this very day He wants to live His life out through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. An unashamed worker. Paul directed Timothy to do his best, to “present yourself approved to God,” a worker who has been tested by trial and has no reason to be ashamed. Be a diligent student of the Word of God and learn how to handle it accurately and skillfully teach the Word of truth. A vessel. Every kitchen has all kinds of containers, some fancy, some everyday. We are to be the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing. We must be clean and ready to use. A servant. Finally, a believer is like a servant. We are to be gentle to everyone. It’s a paradox that we must fight like soldiers and humbly serve people by giving them the Word of God. You never know how or when God might draw them and how they will turn their hearts to Him and escape the devil’s trap. ### Next: What will the last days look like?