Living Godly

II Timothy 3:12-13

Unless you have worked in a prison (or been incarcerated), you have no idea what the environment is like. TV does not do it justice. The stories people tell do not do it justice. When I hear someone say "I would go to jail for..." I wonder if they even have an inkling of a hint as to what they are saying? I'm not going to try and describe it here, but I have to be honest, I understand why some people chose suicide by cop over going back. It is a terrible environment. One which God never intended for humans to be in. However, prison has been the reality for many Christians over the centuries. I have read and heard some of the stories, and they can be filled with grim chapters. The only hope is that God was doing something for His glory through the suffering.

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"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."

II Timothy 3:12-13

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In this world we suffer. We all know that. However, Paul just took things to a whole new level. Not only do Christians suffer like everyone else, but now we are told that we will suffer persecution! This is how you know that being a Christians is more than a cognitive decision. For those who claim to be Christians, but have done no more than usurped the name of Christ for themselves, when things get hard, they run. We see this with "Christian Celebrities". They will describe some crisis of faith and then proclaim that they no longer believe. The fact is, they never truly believed. They never knew Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Verse 13 is not something that the US military would put on a recruitment commercial. Can you imagine these slogans: "The Few, The Incarcerated, The Marines" or "Bleed all you can Bleed in the Army"? And yet, these verses are not hidden from us in God's Word. They are not deduced from interpreting some secret "Bible Code". No, they are plainly stated, not only here, but throughout the scriptures. We see examples of this truth in both the Old and New Testaments. God does not hide the fact that we will be hated and abused. Interestingly enough, where the flames of persecution burn the hottest, the gospel is spread the loudest, and people receive the gospel readily.

As history progresses, evil people and frauds will increase. With that increase will come more intense persecution for true believers. I can remember within my lifetime when almost every politician and political appointee would have professed to be "Christians". Then, suddenly things began to change. Fewer professed to be Christians. When laws were put in place, or misinterpreted by the courts, and the field was set, politicians began being hostile towards believers. We frequently hear that we have freedom of religion in our homes and churches, but not in the public sector. Some have even said that Christians have no place in the government or in government jobs. We are starting to feel some heat in the U.S.

With that being said, what do we do? The answer to that is the purpose of this letter to Timothy. Paul is telling him to keep going. Don't quit. Trust what he has learned from his childhood. Trust God. Be aware and be bold! That is the message to Timothy, and that is Paul's message to us!

Father, Your Word is clear, but many of us have bought into the lie that our life is supposed to be easier and less stressful when we profess faith in You. Your Word tells us that we will have trials in this world. Help us to stand firm in those trails because we stand on You, the solid rock.