2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.First, let me describe the context of the chapter surrounding this verse. Before this verse, we are given a sense of God's judgement at the end as well as the placement of all actions within the larger narrative of eternity. Afterward, we are told that people will not listen to sound logic for long, but will surround themselves with friends and messages that only confirm what they already believe. Because of eternity and ever-hardening hearts, we are to consider and apply Paul's words to our lives.
First of all, we are told to preach the word. This is excellent advice in a time when we are looking for the best and latest Christian author, whether John Piper, David Platt, or Donald Miller; we can get swept up in making the message of the Bible so contemporary that we lose touch with the original author: God. The Bible is more than a text book that can be better understood through a Sparks Note (watered down) version that presents the basic ideas of any given book in a series of points and summaries. Instead, the Bible is a living, breathing text that invites us to interact with God on a deeper level rather than assume we have Him pinned down. Check out Hebrews 4:12:
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.One of the deepest joys of reading the Gospel books (Matt, Mark, Luke, John), in particular is that we can never really pin Jesus down; He's always full of surprises and often says things that we have a hard time fitting into a comfortable box.
The next thing we are told to do is be prepared in season and out of season. This means that we need to be growing in our relationship with God and in general maturity whether or not we know that people are going to be listening to us speak about our faith, whether as a sermon or as a testimony. God often calls us to speak into people's lives when we aren't expecting it; many times we never find out the impact our words have made. However, if we, as Christians, say that God is eternal, or alive at all times, then that means that God is alive right now and, if we say that God is also at all places, then that means that God is present with you where you are right now. This shouldn't just be an intellectual idea that stays up in the sky and believed only to avoid being a heretic. Instead, these ideas have implications for our every day lives. You may be surprised to learn that God is active with you in your boring work place or when you are having fun, whether working on your budget or watching television. There are various ways that God speaks to and connects with us in everyday life. Also, however, He wants us to attend to what He is saying. By recognizing how God is present in a situation, we choose to delight ourselves in Him and find deeper meaning in all of life. Look at Psalm 37:4:
4 Take delight in the Lord,God and eternity being in the every day is more than a matter of enjoyment, however: It is also a matter of responsibility. Consider Deuteronomy 6:6-7:
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.We need to be willing and able to have deep conversations about God wherever He may place us and no matter how ready we feel. Our paths will cross with people who are desperately in need of interaction with God that might be difficult for them to cultivate on their own. However, the solution to this isn't to walk around with a curriculum that we want to teach people written on the back of our hand or stuffed away in our pocket: This is dead religion that tries to bear fruit in people's lives whether or not God is present in the moment. The difference with living, breathing ministry is one's own living, breathing relationship with God. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to be paying attention to God in the everyday. For instance, if you are learning about being a better listener, God could act in several ways to use this to bless others: someone might be going through a loss and need to be listened to rather than advised; you might need to be a good steward of your education and make sure to pay attention to what your teachers are saying and allow their words to go deeper inside yourself; you may sense that something is wrong during the day and decide to stop and listen to that feeling rather than assume that it's just a feeling and run on with your day. This is but one of many scenarios where paying attention to your everyday life can open yourself to a move of the Spirit.
Finally, we are told to teach, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. I see this as speaking to more than full time ministers. These words, especially since they are to the minister named Timothy, could be thought of as only to ministers, but, considering that Paul's admonitions that eternity affects everything we do and that our time is quickly running out, it would be wise to consider that we should consider these words as well. However, how are we to do that if we are not regularly speaking in front of congregations or have the authority given by the title 'Pastor' to speak into people's lives? We do this by discussing what we believe with our Christian brethren and bringing our own spiritual journeys into every day life, whether to the dinner table or as a curious thought brought up on the way to church. Like the Deuteronomy verse I quoted says, we should talk about these things when we sit at home and when we are on the road. Also, look at 1 Timothy 4:16:
16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.This verse assumes that people will be listening to us and this is an excellent assumption to make. When we live in season and out of season, we assume that we will teach people what we believe whether or not we mean to. Thus, we need to be actively searching out what we do believe about God and what calls He makes upon our lives so that the lessons people take away from time with us will draw them closer in their relationships with God. However, what we learn from the last phrase of 2 Timothy 4:2, "with great patience and careful instruction" should be that we will never be able to control other people. Having a spiritual conversation does not mean that you have automatically made the other person more spiritual or closer to God. What it does mean is that you have been a faithful steward of the blessings that God has given you today. So, in conclusion, meditate on the same verse in a larger context:
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.Peace of Christ to you,
Simeon Snow
No comments:
Post a Comment