With that in mind; May our dear God bless you with all grace, mercy and peace. May your home and life be filled with His presence so that you and your family will reflect the Glory of the One, True and Living God.
Paul begins by telling Timothy that he appreciates him. That is a great example how we might look to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us consider that we might not only tell them we appreciate them but really do appreciate them. I occasionally send our pastor a card letting him know that I appreciate him. I think we can all agree that feeling unappreciated is not a great feeling. We might also agree that having someone tell you how you are appreciated can lift any of us out of many a funk.
Paul goes on to praise Timothy for his faith and the faith of his ancestors. He talks about not being timid in his faith and instructs him to never be ashamed of his faith. That little part gave me cause to stop and think. As we look around the world today, we see may cultures and beliefs being bold about who they are and what they believe, while many of us are quiet about it and may even be shy about the fact we are Christians. I recently read a story about two women who worked together for years. One finally felt led to share her faith with the other and found out they were both Believers. The writer of the story shared how ashamed they both felt about hiding who they were. There is a lesson in that wouldn't you agree?
Scripture tells us to be gentle as we share our faith but never tells us to not be bold and strong in our faith. I have never seen backing a person into a corner and beating them with God's Word as working but neither has quietly sitting by and bot sharing anything at all. Our culture tells us to be tolerant and keep our faith to ourselves. We are being taught in the ways of "political correctness". The problem there is that we are the only ones that seem to be buying into political correctness. Jesus and His followers were not ashamed nor concerned with being politically correct.
Paul speaks of the fact that he is unashamed of his faith and not ashamed to tell others. He told people in prison, he told people everywhere he went. It doesn't always go well on the surface and landed Paul in prison as he mentions here. Paul also mentions that even though he is suffering, the Lord gives him strength to endure. That phrase pops up all through the Bible. We can see a trend in the followers of Jesus. They don't particularly pray for things to change as they see persecution as a good thing, as a badge of their faith. They more commonly ask for the strength to endure the things that happen to them because of their immovable faith in Christ.
Paul shares that the gift of the mercy and grace of Christ is so wonderful and that it is the only way to have eternal life, that it is so valuable a message, that he has to share it - even if he ends up getting beaten and put in prison.
He then encourages Timothy to not give up and to stand firm in what he has been taught. Even though Paul has been deserted by everyone, he holds on to the truth and continues to guard and preach it, not to glorify himself but so others might find what he has found in the Lord.
Re-read chapter one and see what the verses there encourage you to feel and how to move forward. What can you learn from this example? Are you encouraged to approach anything in a new way?
Love and blessings to you my brothers and sisters.