His Calling, Your Commitment, His Strength
Timothy was not in a good place. It feels to me like he was in a ministry criss of some sort. Maybe he was on the verge of giving it all up. Paul urges him forward by talking about calling. He had already mentioned it earlier with the laying on of hands (1:6) but now he pushes the dialogue forward by focusing upon Jesus. It all starts with Jesus. It also all ends with Jesus.
II Timothy 1:9-14
9. The one who saved us and then called us into this holy calling did not do so based on our works but by his own purpose and grace. This has been given to us before time eternal in Messiah Jesus.
10. But now the revelation of our salvation through Messiah Jesus has been revealed, who demolished death and now brings to light the life and incorruptibility of the gospel,
11. of which I was appointed a preacher, apostle, and teacher.
12. This is why I suffer; yet I am not ashamed, for I know the one I have trusted, and I have been persuaded that he is strong to guard my commitment until that day.
13. Hold on to the model of healthy teaching you heard from me, in faith and love in Messiah Jesus.
14. Guard that proper commitment through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
I am intrigued by the language we often use to describe calling. We, and I am guilty of this for sure, often say, ‘My calling’ as if we owned it. I am not certain we mean that, but the language sets it up as something that is more connected to us and our personality, our desires, our dreams than it is in the Lord. Paul tells Timothy calling doesn’t belong to him, it belongs to God. Whatever hesitation he is having or problems he is experiencing, however legitimate, are not his to terminate. Since the call is in Jesus, by his grace and purposes and not our works or decisions, we are bound to our work.
I think this is true for me as a vocational leader and it is also true for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. Calling doesn’t only exist for those whose day-in and day-out work is leading and guiding the church. Calling is for everyone — a calling to teach, to serve, to help, to change diapers, to repair broken lights, to clean the carpets, to play the drums, to sing, and to pray. We all have, I believe, some kind of calling in the kingdom of God. And this is the gift, the spiritual gift, that must be used. We have no choice if we are to be obedient. Anything less than that is disobedience and rebellion.
I find it interesting in verse 11 he lists his calling and doesn’t start with apostle. He begins with preacher. We relegate Paul to theologian, apostle, church planter but I believe he saw himself primarily as a preacher. He famously wrote to the Corinthians:
Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16)
I cannot read verse 12 without singing the old hymn’s chorus which is based on this verse – ‘For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded, that he is able, to keep that which I’ve committed unto him against that day.’ It fills my heart. Yet, the old words miss some the emphasis, which is on the strength of God to fulfill the commitment Paul has made to ministry regardless of what suffering Paul goes through. It is not Paul’s ability, but the strength of Jesus.
The trust in Jesus to fulfill the ministry is what Paul wants Timothy to do. You can almost hear him saying his own words from Philippians 1:6, ‘He who began a good work in you will complete it.’ The healthy model of ministry is not some ‘best practices’ or ‘system’ that is to be adopted. The healthy model of ministry is one that trusts Jesus with the results and recognizes our responsibility.
Not everyone has the same commitment, and those are the unhealthy models. It is to those whom he turns in the next lines, and these we will catch in the next post.
For now; maybe spend time thinking about your own holy vocation — what is it? How do you practice it? Have you neglected it? Or worse, is it something you’re bitter about or even despise?
