The Truth is Worth It

A few nights ago, i was reading my daily portion of Scripture for our youth group when at the end i realized that i was supposed to be in 1Timothy but i had just read 2Timothy. Yet what i read was exactly what it was that i needed--a true gift from God.
The passage was 2Timothy 2:1-7 and just a few moments ago i had the privilege of sharing some thoughts with the staff at our Christian school and i'd love to share some of those same thoughts with you.
Paul is writing to Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith, and from church history we know that this was the last letter Paul penned that is part of Scripture. Shortly after this Paul would be beheaded for his faith. It is this same faith that Paul urged Timothy to hold on to.
Paul shares that the truth that he preached, the truth that he lived and soon would die for was, is and always will be reliable. It had been confirmed and had been proven. The call is to stand firm in the midst of it. To grab hold and never let go.
That's easier said than done, right... Especially since our world is not exactly the most amiable environment for living like Christ. Yet, Paul, now nearing the end, says that this truth that has absolutely consumed his life was worth everything he had suffered (and he had suffered much, 2Cor. 11).
So what Paul tells us is that it's not easy to live the truth and to pass it on to others. That's not very popular today. Since i'm an American i deserve to have a faith that i can freely express to others and that i can practice without having to struggle. Yet that is reality...struggle.
Three images that Paul gives us to help us fight to live and share God's truth are the soldier, the athlete and the farmer.
The Roman soldier, if he was worth his salt did not allow anything to distract him from his duties. He kept to his post. He did not entangle himself in the affairs of civilian life. In other words, he was focused.
We're so busy, yet how much of what we're doing really matters? Are we focused on seeking God's kingdom first or is that just something we try to squeeze in on Sunday mornings if we haven't stayed out too late on Saturday night? We need focus.
The Olympic athlete would maintain the strictest of disciplines in order to compete in the games. If he broke any rule during not only the games but also the rigorous training period he was immediately disqualified and lost everything he had been working for.
We don't want to hear the word "no". We don't want to deny what our soul craves and thirsts for, yet that is what Paul is telling us. If what we desire compromises or adulterates God's truth in any way, we cannot allow it to be part of our lives. We need discipline.
The farmer is the picture of patience. He's not lazy. He would till and tend his field rigorously each day making sure that nothing would impede the growth of his precious crop. Yet, he had to wait for it to mature. When the harvest finally came, it was worth all the toil because he had the precious first fruits in his hands. The crop was worth it.
So is the truth. The truth is worth holding on to. We must be patient through all of the struggles. Through the storms as well as the droughts of life, we must hold fast. Why?... Because the truth, God's truth is worth it.
Stay focused: don't allow yourself to be spread so thin that you're not fulfilling the one thing God's gifted you to do.
Stay disciplined: don't allow yourself to stray from the truth of God's Word. We must live what we say we believe.
Be patient: being a beacon of God's truth is worth the sacrifice.
It's ironic that i even mention the word sacrifice because when the day of Christ comes i really believe that all of us will echo the words of J. Hudson Taylor, missionary to China, when he said, "I never made a sacrifice." Thanks for reading.