Saturday 13th January
Read 2 Timothy 2:11-13
“Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.” (NIVUK)
Paul’s intention in this part of the letter seems to be to encourage Timothy that life as Christian, and particularly as a minister, is not easy. It requires hard work, focus, discipline and suffering. This is what should be expected because this is what Jesus went through. It is also what Paul went through. Timothy should expect nothing less.
I have often wondered whether these instructions are specific to ministers and if the expectation is not quite the same on those ‘in the pews’ so to speak. Reflecting on this part of Timothy however suggests that the differences may not be as great as we may hope. This ‘trustworthy saying’, which either reflects a hymn sung by those ‘in the pews’ or a catechistic phrase used to encourage early Christian believers, seems to reinforce precisely the same expectations that Paul is seeking to encourage in Timothy.
It expresses in verse the simple truth that the Christian life is one where we follow Christ in all things. We follow Him into death and suffering (‘if we endure’) and by so doing we find life and victory. Life and victory are not found on any other path. Avoiding suffering and pain and even death is not an expectation we should have. It is a temptation.
