8 Now we know that the Law is good if used appropriately. 9 We understand this: the Law isn’t established for a righteous person but for people who live without laws and without obeying any authority. They are the ungodly and the sinners. They are people who are not spiritual, and nothing is sacred to them. They kill their fathers and mothers, and murder others. 10 They are people who are sexually unfaithful, and people who have intercourse with the same sex. They are kidnappers, liars, individuals who give false testimonies in court, and those who do anything else that is opposed to sound teaching. 11 Sound teaching agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God that has been trusted to me.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength because he considered me faithful.
Reflection
Do you remember singing the song “Fishers of Men”? It’s always interesting to me when Brian teaches the kids a song during his children’s time. They are typically songs I learned in Sunday School many years ago. The songs have the right messaging but need some tweaks here and there for the times – as Brian pointed out when he said we will fish for people and not just men. I love that Brian did that!
I think this lines up well with how we sometimes feel about being ashamed of the testimony because the church has certainly been and continues to be patriarchal in many spaces. It can be difficult to talk about the church in light of the many mistakes it has made, but I am hopeful that is also the beauty of the message of our testimony. We know the church is not perfect, but we know that the triune God is. We know the church is made up of people who have made lots of mistakes. Hopefully we look at those, acknowledge them, and try to do better. We welcome those who aren’t perfect.
As Joe said, we are ordinary people who, with the help of the Holy Spirit, can do amazing things by doing ordinary things. Those ordinary things can include witnessing to someone to tell them how God has helped us and to let them know we are not perfect and will never be, but we are willing to acknowledge that fact, and possibly share food, time, diapers, clothing etc. with others. As Brian told the kids, if we talk to one person and get them to come alongside us, we can build something. We can make change in the world.
In the letter to Timothy, Paul was near the end of his life. He was preparing Timothy to continue his ministry. The Christian church was still relatively new – the references I saw said Timothy was probably written around 64-68 AD. Paul was stressing that the witnessing was not about Timothy. It was about what God had done through Jesus and that it was and continues today to be a holy calling. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us because it certainly can be intimidating to talk to people, but it is in fact what we are called to do.
Now will we be John Wesley or an MLK? Will we be a pastor at all? Maybe, but most of us will not be. We will be those ordinary people talking to other ordinary people encouraging them and being encouraged through our day-to-day struggles and learning to rely more on God. My husband’s aunt is a big frog lover, and she used to have cards with a picture of a frog that said FROG – Fully Rely On God. That is our calling and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can make that happen!
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
When was the last time we shared a testimony? Even sharing a kind word or some food or some diapers with someone can work to help create a knowledge of God in someone else – just because of our kindness.
Prayer: God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, settle on us that we may boldly testify for you – even if we say nothing. Help us to let your light shine through our words and actions. We give you all the praise, amen!
