Be What You Are Called To Be. Let God Be God In The Process

7.7.24 2 Timothy 2:1–13 (EHV) Trinity Ev. Lutheran, Bay City

1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Entrust the things you heard from me, in the presence of many witnesses, to faithful men who will also be able to teach others. 3 Share hardships as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the affairs of everyday life. If he does, he will not please the one who enlisted him. 5 Also, if someone competes as an athlete, he does not receive a crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should receive a share of the crops first. 7 Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, a descendant of David, in accordance with my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, along with eternal glory. 11 This saying is trustworthy: Indeed, if we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with him; If we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 If we are faithless, he remains faithful, because he cannot deny himself.

Be What You Are Called to Be. Let God Be God in the Process

Years ago, professional basketball player Charles Barkley made waves when he publicly declared, “I am not a role model.” Yet many young basketball players looked up to him and wanted to emulate his game. It was just that he didn’t WANT to be a role model, even though he was, for better or for worse. Some of the biggest problems in life come from people who don’t want to be what they are called to be. When young fathers and moms don’t want to take on the responsibility of their children, when they want to act like kids when they’re not.

Paul wanted Timothy to think about his position and his role as a young pastor. Entrust the things you heard from me, in the presence of many witnesses, to faithful men who will also be able to teach others. He was being called on to teach other young men so that they too could be faithful leaders. In order to do that Paul told him to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” He had to be confident in who he was as God’s , forgiven, called and chosen servant. People would be looking up to him, listening to his teaching, counting on him for guidance. He couldn’t be shy about it, in spite of his age.

In some aspects that’s what God wants from all of us. Don’t be apologetic about being a mom, a student, whatever role you may have in life. It may be difficult, but embrace it. Try to work on your calling and hone your skills. Be confident in what YOU have and use it to the glory of God, in line with how HE tells you to be and act.

Paul warned Timothy of the dangers that would be involved with his calling as a pastor. God’s Word is compared to dynamite, and if you’re called on to blow stuff up, well, people are going to get angry with you, especially when you blow up their system of who they are and how they live. He lived in blatantly immoral times, and Christians were far from popular for their views on sex and marriage, not to mention who Jesus was. The Jews and the Gentiles hated them. That was the pattern of how it always works in our world. In our 1st Lesson from the book of Ezekiel, God said to Ezekiel, “Do not be afraid of their words, and do not be intimidated by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. You are to speak my words to them whether they listen or they do not, for they are rebellious.” (Eze 2:6–7) (And that was the Israelites, who were supposed to be GOD’S people.) Jesus, of course, was crucified as He called out the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Paul himself was imprisoned several times for what he preached. All of the disciples were put to death, except for John who was exiled to the island of Patmos. So Paul was being honest with Timothy. This would be an easy thing to be a pastor.

What kind of dangers are involved in being a Christian today? It depends on how outspoken you are with your beliefs. You could lose your job if you buck the system during pride month, refuse to wear the rainbow flag maybe. You could get banned from Facebook over what would be considered inflammatory or hateful remarks. I wonder if we denounced pride month on our electronic sign what would happen. Would it be vandalized? Would we be picketed? Would our Facebook page get inundated with accusations of being a hate filled church?