2 Timothy 2:24-26

Summary retelling of 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Those who serve the Lord must not be quarrelsome.  Instead they should be kind, looking for opportunities to preach and teach, able to endure evil, and willing to correct others gently.  Spiritual servants must be this way in order to help God’s opponents see why turning to God is important so that they may know truth and escape the snare of Satan and his agenda in this world.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul reminds Timothy that our primary work on this planet is to be ambassadors for God and His ways.  People need to see models representing why turning to God is important.  When we act like the world yet confess belief in God, why would anyone want to add God to their life?  Yet, we when act different (better, even!) than the world, then we give the world a reason to consider turning to God.  Being God’s ambassador to family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc should be our primary concern in this world.

How good are you at being God’s representative?  In what ways do you think you represent God well?  In what qualities could you stand to improve how well you represent God?

Second Thought:

Some of the qualities that we should obtain are kindness and the ability to correct others gently.  Both of these aspects deal with our ability to interact with others.  In fact, much of both of these abilities are about whether or not we see other people as an opportunity to be served or to serve.  We know what Jesus’ answer on this point is.  (See Matthew 20:28)

Do we (I or you) see other people as an avenue to get our will or as an avenue to get God’s will done?  In what ways does this question really come back to the concept of the self-monger?

Third Thought:

The other two qualities that Paul asserts as important in this section are: looking for ways to teach/preach and looking for ways to endure evil.  These qualities directly relate to our spirituality.  If we are genuinely pursuing God’s ways, then we should be prepared to endure evil and focus on God.  If we are truly pursuing God’s ways we should realize just how much he wants us to talk about our faith to others in a meaningful way.  Again the point seems to come down to one question.

Are we following our own agenda or are we humbling ourselves to follow God’s agenda?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Timothy 3:1