Any time I read a passage in 2 Timothy, I am reminded of how intimate of a letter it is. This is the last letter penned by Paul that we have before he was shipped off to Rome where he met his death. In this last letter, Paul gave his son in the faith, Timothy, several pieces of advice and words of encouragement. Among these final instructions, we come across chapter 4 and verse 2 where Paul instructs Timothy to do five actions (preach, be ready, reprove, rebuke, and exhort). The first of the imperatives that Paul gives is “preach the word.” In an effort to better digest that command, it’d be good to break that down into the two words of “preach” and “word.” There is a verb (preach) and a noun/subject (the word) involved with this particular imperative.
Before you discount this passage by saying, “well, I’m not a preacher so I can tune this one out,” unfortunately, that kind of thinking doesn’t work in totality. While Timothy was most certainly the local preacher for his congregation, being a preacher can come in a variety of portrayals. In fact, you are preaching something in your life at this very moment. What is it that you speak often of? What do you tell others about? If you were to make a pie chart of your verbal content, what would the categories be? We are all broadcasting some sort of message whether we realize it or not.
The next point of interest in the phrase “preach the word” is the subject and noun, “word.” We are not in this life to preach ourselves, and I’m thankful for that. We get to speak up about a perfect Lord who has no flaw. If I preached a sermon on “Tyler,” I would be absolutely mortified due to all of the mistakes, faults, and selfish ambitions I find within myself. Unfortunately, social media typically only sees the highlights of our lives and that can lead us to think we are more flawless than what reality speaks of. Thankfully, we aren’t put in the situation of preaching self.
Paul tells Timothy to proclaim “the word.” Previously in this letter, we learn that God’s word is without error and is divinely inspired (3:16). It is the vocabulary of God given by way of His Son to the apostles (1:13). There’s far too much to talk about when it comes to God and His scriptures to simply remain silent. It’s a message that is too good not to talk about.
We ourselves are broken, chipped, cracked, beaten up, and tore up. However, we are merely just instruments and voice boxes to speak of the greatness of God. We don’t have to be totally perfect, but we need to be functional in communicating His message. Church, we’re not in this to lift ourselves up and seek a pat on the back. We’re here to remind those around us of Jesus and to educate others who’ve never had the blessing of knowing Him. We’re here to let Christ be the focal point of our hearts. It is only at that point that we can truly have spiritual bliss and boldness.
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