Deepening Your Spiritual Life X

An Introductory Note about II Timothy

We know from I Timothy 1:3, that Timothy was located in Ephesus for long term development of that ministry. This second letter is written to Timothy from prison, most likely in Rome (II Timothy 1:17). The tears mentioned in II Timothy 1:3 seem to be related to his meeting at Miletus (Acts 20:17-38) where Paul summons the elders of Ephesus (which would have included Timothy as the lead elder) to bid them a farewell before heading to Jerusalem. Paul is arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27ff), which eventually takes him to Caesarea (Acts 23:23ff ), where he is tried before Governor Felix (resulting in a two year imprisonment (Acts 24:27), and then tried by the new governor Festus and Roman puppet Hasmonean King Herod Agrippa before shipping off to Rome. The point here is that this is a letter sent to Timothy from prison in the twilight of Paul’s life and ministry. The letter continues the encouragement of his son in the faith, albeit with a little more passion.

II Timothy 1-2

If the letter is from Rome, Paul has not seen Timothy in more than three years at this writing. Chapter 1, verses 5-7, give us the chance to pause and thank God for our spiritual heritage and history. Timothy is a third generation Christian who has a very real history of God being active in his life. It is vital for us to return to home base and remember what has brought us this far. I love to sit with pastors and hear them tell their call to ministry stories, because it helps me remember and update my call. I love to hear Christians tell their story of how they came to faith in Christ, because it stirs me to remember my own salvation story. Verse 7 is worthy of our memorization,

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

Leander Keck, in his book, The Church Confident, invites the contemporary church to raise questions and even be self-critical but “it must not whimper.” In verses 8-12, we are reminded that our confidence in Christ is not empty, but is rooted in the coming, death, resurrection and second coming. As you read verse 12, some of you might be hearing in your mind the words of the great hymn, “I Know Whom I Have Believed.”

In II Timothy 1:15-2:13, Paul invites Timothy to stay strong, even though he is seeing casualties all around him (people falling from the faith). He uses the illustrations of a good soldier, a winning athlete, and the diligent farmer to encourage ongoing discipline and perseverance. I continue to enjoy Malcom Gladwell’s The Outliers. One of his chapters talks about the southern Chinese and their work in the rice paddies. The average work week (the longest in the world) is more than 60 hours of back-breaking tedious labor. One of the lasting legacies for the southern Chinese as they migrate through the world is that they stay at a task for as long as it takes to complete it or as long as it takes to solve a problem. Gladwell offers this tenacity and perseverance as part of the reason they tend to out-perform their western counterparts. Paul is encouraging that same dimension in our Christian life.

It is important to Paul that Timothy not be discouraged because of Paul’s extended imprisonment. I wonder if Paul hasn’t gotten a letter from Timothy to that effect. Paul serves the risen Christ. He may be in chains, but the gospel is not. God will be faithful, so we can count on him. At the close of the three-day-retreat, “The Walk to Emmaus,” pilgrims say to one another, “I am counting on Christ,” and then the other pilgrim responds, “And Christ is counting on you.” In tough times where there is misunderstanding, persecution, and losses, can Christ count on us?

The last section of II Timothy 2 (vss. 14ff) invites the young leader to keep his focus: to avoid distraction of things that are superfluous or false, to “flee the evil desires of youth,” and to maintain a peaceable and kind attitude with people. One of the key attributes of healthy leadership is the ability to maintain an unanxious presence in difficult times and with contentious people. The times we live in have an abundance of both difficulty and contention, so the chance to develop unanxious presence are all around us. Have a great evening in our Lord Jesus Christ!