2 Timothy 2 and 3

2 Timothy 2

Paul tells Timothy that the Lord knows his children. The shepherd knows his sheep. And if those who know the Lord will turn from all iniquity, they will “be a vessel of honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” To me that means that I will be able to accomplish more of the important things in life, the things that really matter and will be meaningful, making a difference that lasts. The way that we do this, he says, is to flee youthful lusts, live righteously, seek faith, charity, peace, and be gentle, patient, and teach with meekness.

2 Timothy 3

Paul gives more signs of the last days. These are not only telling of our day, but of the apostasy in his day also. Each of the signs that he lists is evident today. One the particularly sticks out to me is, “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” There are so ministers, leaders, politicians, teachers, who would seem to be, or set themselves up to be possessed of great wisdom. They will hop on the popular issues and have the answers. But without the inspiration of God, man’s wisdom will always be short sighted. There are many verses in the scriptures that differentiate between the wisdom that is based on man’s reasoning and wisdom that is based on inspiration. For example, Isaiah warns that the wisdom of our wise men will perish. King Benjamin says that the Spirit will guide us in wisdom’s path. I believe any honest seeker of truth can be inspired with true wisdom. Those that have true wisdom will have a form of godliness and the power of inspiration. They will display the qualities of a true leader Paul speaks of and will exude faith, peace, and meekness. Their answers will not always be the easy answers, but the ones that cause us to stretch and learn and be better in more meaningful ways.