Sunday 9 August 2020

Endure all things

Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. – 2 Timothy 2.10

When Paul talks about enduring he is saying a lot. He enduring rejection, abuse, hatred, arrests, jailing, beatings, shipwrecks, being left for dead, and a snakebite just for starters. Any of us would be hard pressed to compare what we endure with what he endured.

Those things are terribly discouraging and can cause despair. I preached recently from 2 Corinthians 2 about discouragement and despair and how what gets us through that is the knowledge that Christ had already given us the victory and cause us to march in The Triumph.

So Paul simply endured. He did not become weary in well doing. No matter how bad the circumstances he just carried on as a good soldier of the cross.

Why? Why would he do that? Because nothing was more important to him than seeing people saved.

What then does it take to deter me? How much am I willing today? Can I even endure setbacks cause by the crazy reaction to the Covid virus? Will I?

How important are souls to me?

No comments: