Skip to main content

Faithful

           Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
    we will also live with him;
 if we endure,
    we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
    he will also disown us;
 if we are faithless,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot disown himself.

(II Timothy 2:11-13)

 

          I think I’ve read somewhere that this and other passages like it might be hymns. They might also be early creeds. The cross-references I found were all for New Testament passages, so while one can very likely find parallel texts in the Old Testament, it wasn’t made up of specific, identified quotes. And this ends the dry, scholarly note.

          This brings us back to our whys. Why are we dying with Him or for Him? Because it will lead to living with Him. Why are we enduring? Because it will lead to our reigning with Him. Equally, if we disown Him, He will disown us. After all, if we want nothing to do with Him, would it be right for Him to impose Himself on us? Some years ago, a friend told me she wanted nothing more to do with me and that I was not to contact her again. I’ll admit – I haven’t been perfect about not contacting her. I’ve sent her my standard birthday greetings, for example. But the point is that I have not turned my back on friendship with her. I’ve just granted her (imperfectly) what she demanded of me. So, it’s entirely possible to “disown” someone without maliciousness.

          The first three phrases make sense. They involve a sort of give-and-take. The fourth phrase breaks the pattern. It should be something like, “If we are faithless, He will cast us out.” Isn’t that what we tend to do with unfaithful spouses? Unfaithful friends? We do that because that’s the sort of person we are. It’s what makes sense. It’s natural. God doesn’t do that because that’s not the sort of person He is. It doesn’t make sense to Him. It’s not natural to Him.

That’s what makes this passage magnificent. We begin with two positive whys: living with Him and reigning with Him. It adds a negative why: avoiding being disowned by Him, and then it gives us the reassurance we need. If we’re honest, we know there’s no way that we are going to face dying or enduring as well as Jesus did. We’re afraid we don’t pass the test when it comes to the choice to own or disown Him. What the fourth phrase tells us is that even if we fail, He does not. It doesn’t mean we don’t have to try, but God is faithful even if we are not.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more