Could Today be “The” Day?
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2 Timothy 4:1-5
1. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2. preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. 3. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, 4. and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. 5. As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.
Verses 3-5 sound as if they were written about the current political climate in the world! It almost feels as if things are about to break loose and as if the whole world will be at war at any moment! Of course, the broadcasters are almost like Jekyl and Hyde: as human beings they don’t want people to be harmed or to die, but their livelihoods depend upon “breaking news” and the more dynamic and dramatic the better!
In light of all the violence and unrest in the world - on many fronts and for many different reasons - we could easily fall into the mindset that the “end times” are near. And in a way, that might make us shape up and live correctly and minister to God’s world more diligently. It might cause us to love our spouse more passionately and be more patient and gentle with our children. Who knows, we could even think about reconciling with an estranged relative or muster up the fortitude to withstand all the annoying quirks of our co-workers!
The thing is: the world has been this way for thousands of years! So I think the message we might take away from this passage is that we better continue (or start) to live as if the end is near! The truth is, we have no way of knowing when Christ will come again. Some may proclaim the time and place has been revealed to them -- they are those referred to verse 3! We don’t know. So we better be proactive, urgent, steady in our work as evangelists. I almost hesitated to use that word, because “evangelists” have been portrayed in the media as if all of us think exactly alike, believe exactly the same thing, vote exactly the same way. In truth, the only thing “all of us” share is our belief that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. And that he was crucified, died and rose again.
Oh, and that we will all join Him in heaven when the end times actually do arrive.
My prayer today is that you get back to basics of our faith. And that you live out today as if it were your last.
Mary
