2 Timothy 2:3-7
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Truth: We WILL suffer in ministry - it is part of God's plan
Somewhere along the line the Christian Church (along with societies interpretation of the Christian Church) the picture has been painted that to become a Christian (and, especially a Christian minister) is rosy and wonderful. We have been convinced that when we come to Christ we have all the things we want and not only is our spirit changed and our destiny changed, but also our circumstances have changed. We have been convinced that if we have suffering in our life it is directly related to sin in our lives. Christians aren't supposed to have sin and therefore should not suffer. Paul is writing to his young student, Timothy, who at this time is the Elder in the Church at Ephesus. Ephesus is the home town of the goddess, Diana. The town was in an uproar ever since Paul was there to spread the Gospel. The more the Gospel took root, the more the people saw the worship of Diana as a flaw and the more they quit spending money on her. That loss of money put the power brokers in a bind and that increased the suffering of those leading the Christian Church ... i.e. Timothy, who Paul left there to build the church. Paul's second letter to Timothy was sent to encourage him despite that suffering. Paul uses three metaphors to let Timothy know suffering is normal with those who have a mission given to them. He uses the picture of soldier, the athlete, and the farmer. These are not three different word pictures. Each of the three illustrations have these areas of character in common: All three (soldier, athlete and farmer) have made a commitment towards something; all three have suffering that comes as a result the field they have pursued; all three will receive some reward once they get through the suffering. Suffering is part of training for war ... war is suffering. To train for the "games" in Paul's day it was a ten-month commitment for the athlete to push yourself (today it is a year round project for four years). To farm is to deal with the difficulties of unexpected droughts and/or too much rain and/or pestilence and/or, in Paul's day, thieves. If we are going to serve Christ we must come to the understanding that we will have suffering. Paul tells Timothy to "think over what I say" and to trust God because "the Lord will give you understanding in everything." Enduring in suffering, however, is unlike the soldier, the athlete and farmer. They do it, in the world, through their strength of their own will and even boast about that thought. We do suffering through the strength of Christ in faith, only He can provide. Suffering is part of our mission to serve Christ. The greater we serve the more suffering we ought to experience.
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