A Profile in Courage: Part 2

For most of the younger years of his ministry Timothy had been shielded from the worst of the suffering. As the primary face and principle spokesman of the Christian faith, Paul had been the primary object of the hostility that the gospel frequently elicited. Paul had borne the attacks, Paul had endured the stoning’s, Paul had suffered the imprisonments. It wasn’t until things were well established and flourishing that Timothy was usually left to tend the work, and even then only under Paul’s constant guidance, care and protection. But all of that was about to change. Not only would Timothy assume the mantle of Paul’s leadership, he would take on the lion’s share of Paul’s sufferings. In the example of the soldier, the athlete and the hard working farmer, there would be no gain without pain, no crown without a cross. If Timothy was to prove faithful, he would have to learn to endure suffering. In the second part of his charge Paul set out to prepare him mentally, emotionally and spiritually for that reality and responsibility, as we’ll see this morning in 2 Timothy 2:8-13, in a message entitled, “A Profile in Courage: Part 2”.