“As for you, always be
sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your
ministry. For I am already being poured
out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought
the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth
there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to
all who have loved his appearing..”
II Timothy 4:5-8
II Timothy 4:5-8
As the Student Pastor at Millen
Baptist, it is my job to take the lead in battling the culture… the principles
and values of this fallen world which are being propagated to the youth. One of the chief deceptions which must be
battled is the notion that it is acceptable to be one person on Sunday and
another the rest of the week. I have
again and again told the youth that claiming to be Christian must mean
something. I have told them that I want
those who pass the youth house to point and say, “the kids in their love the
Lord.” The youth have heard over and
over again the need for them to be known as honest, honorable, godly young men
and women in every aspect of their lives.
Yet, living this life of consistency… being the same person regardless
of who they are with or where they are will be difficult. As most know, it is considerably easier to
live a life with multiple personalities which please rather than to live a
consist life which others may find objectionable.
The verses from Timothy written above
come from a letter written by the Apostle Paul.
In verse seven, Paul states that he had been a faithful follower of
Jesus. Does this mean that Paul lived
without failing? No. I am biblically convinced that it was as much
of a challenge to remaining faithful and consistent for Paul as it is for each
of us. Paul may have not been perfect
but he knew that he served a perfect God.
Paul understood that he was not called to be an example of perfection
but to be perfectly devoted to the Lord.
He did not strive for faultlessness but rather to be set apart for
God’s purposes… to be holy. This is the
reason that Paul could rightfully claim to have led a life fully devoted to
Christ and to encouraging Timothy to do
likewise.
It is my call for us to heed the advice
of Paul. Deciding to do follow this
counsel will not always be easy. When we decide that we are going to be fully
committed to God and His ways we will still misstep and make an utter mess of
things. But know this, we do not
struggle alone. The sixteenth chapter
and ninth verse of second Chronicles declares, “…the eyes of the Lord search
the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed
to him…”
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My
brothers and sisters, let us reflect on this verse and let each of us decide
to be people of consistent godly character.
Then let us take action to live out this decision every moment of
every day. Let us be those who show
the people around us that we are genuinely committed to following Jesus
Christ.
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