Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us. 2 Timothy 1:13-14 NABRE
Paul is writing to his dearest friend and closest collaborator for what will be the last time. Paul is on trial in Rome, locked in chains and very near his final appeal and it looks as though Paul has no hope of gaining his freedom, in fact his end appears imminent. In the verse quoted Paul is advising Timothy, and speaking about the trust he has had, given him when he became a disciple of Jesus. Paul is grateful for the trust he has been given and he has guarded it dearly. Paul has shared the message of Jesus to spread it wide, he has been trusted to form the Christian tradition and to found many churches, with the hope of the word being transformational for all who hear it. We have this same trust today, we must be spreaders of the word, which begins with our love for others. Paul passes this trusting message on to Timothy who presumably passes it further and wider. Timothy is not asked to repeat words but to take the trusted tradition into his heart and make it his own. And to do it in such a way that others can do the same. Paul and Timothy must have done it right because two-thousand years later we still have trust to take the Christian tradition and pass it on to make new Christians.
We must always remember God trusts us with His word and we are not to use the message to further some agenda we think is right, for example a local political agenda. Jesus knows the flaws of power in this world, it is why he walked humbly and gave up gracefully. We can only convince others we are for them when we let them win as Jesus did.
Do you take responsibility for the trust you have been given? What message do you share?
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