JON
CROCKER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
“Suffer hardship with me” (2 Timothy 2:3). We
have no way of knowing exactly how Timothy
felt when he first read those words from the
Apostle Paul, who referred to Timothy as “my
beloved son” (1:2). He may have
recalled some of the incidents in the
book of Acts that he had observed
or experienced with Paul. Perhaps
he thought of the two years of
house arrest during Paul’s first
imprisonment in Rome, where he
was guarded night and day by a
member of the Roman imperial
guard. As Timothy continued to
read this letter from Paul, he arrived
at these words: “For I am already being poured
out as a drink offering, and the time of my
departure has come. I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the course, I have kept
the faith” (4:6–7). Paul was about to give his
life for Christ. If I had been Timothy, I probably
would have thought, “So that’s what you mean
by ‘suffer hardship with me.’”
Paul understood very well that following Jesus
Christ meant taking up His cross and being
willing to die. For Paul, there was ridicule, riots,
stoning, beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck,
and death. And he called on Timothy (and on
us) to suffer hardship with him.
We can be grateful that Paul sandwiched his
exhortation to suffer between an assurance of
God’s grace in Christ (2:1) and three illustrations
of patient endurance (2:3–6). Suffering hard-
ship, even to the point of death, is beyond our
ability. We need the grace of God, the favor He
provides through our union with Jesus Christ!
Praise God that He enables us to follow Christ,
even into suffering.
This issue of Sowing & Reaping will examine the
three illustrations of perseverance in 2 Timothy
2:3–6. What can we learn from the soldier,
the athlete, and the farmer about suffering
hardship for the Gospel’s sake? The prayer
column encourages us to look to Christ and
pray for God’s help to consider Jesus as we
suffer for Him. May the Lord use this issue to
enable us to suffer hardship for Christ.
DIRECTOR
A W O R D F R O M T H E