bits from bob....
bits from bob....
The Christian daily faces the task of finding spiritual health and vitality in an unspiritual world that seems bent on opposing all that is moral and good. The cynic might respond, "Welcome to the real world!" The isolationist contends for a separation from the world that removes any potential influence of salt, light, or leaven. The careful student of Scripture understand that the 21st century battle we face as Christians is different only in the specifics from the Christians' dilemma in the first century.
The Christian daily answers, in a variety of ways, one essential question which forms and defines the people of God: "Will the world shape Christians or will Christians shape the world?" It was a a primary concern of Paul when he wrote, "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold...." (Rom. 12:1-2, Phillips). You may more readily recognize the words, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed...." The desire to address how a Christian finds stable faith in an unstable world is not limited to the first century. The need is no less pressing today to find the way of faithfulness in an unfaithful world.
With a balanced compassion which sees both the people of God and the Word of God, 2 Timothy is a clarion call for faithfulness. "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful...." (2:13).
We must learn Paul's charge to Timothy. We too need encouragement to faith and faithfulness. We too seek faith for the journey. In a world that threatens to overwhelm us with godlessness, the search for godliness is not always easy, but Paul's eternal words provide help for the journey...for all who seek deeper faith and the ability to confront and win over godlessness.
Together we are seeking spiritual health in an unspiritual world. May God give us "the spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline" (1:7).
