Gospel Reflections #382: It's all God's Work

2 Timothy 2:15 "Strive to be qualified and to stand before God, a workman that has no shame, a righteous preacher of the word of truth."

I was a little repulsed when I read this verse.

I am not a qualified person to stand before God, nor am I a workman without shame, nor am I a righteous preacher of the word of truth. Nor can we work hard to be those things, and even if we could, we would not reach these goals through our own efforts.

We have a tendency to think of our efforts and hardships in proportion to our success in this world and so on. This tendency also often leads us to focus on right and wrong, superior and inferior, etc., and to judge others accordingly.

Timothy says, "Cease your foolish and ignorant debates. It will only end in strife, as you know.

Rightly communicating the word of truth is not about interpreting the Bible or communicating didactic "knowledge," but about unpacking "what God is like" from experience and the Bible.

In addition, we may unconsciously create an attitude of superiority over the person to whom we are communicating, but we must accept, forgive, sympathize, and sympathize with the other person, and manifest our position as fellow sinners in order to properly manifest God.

To do this, we must first realize that we are those who would not be recognized as qualified, those who have something to be ashamed of, and feel that we cannot live without God's presence.

Then, by seeking God himself, we can become such.

Timothy is also told to "avoid worldly vain talk.

We live in the world, and if we only look at the world, we will be immersed in worldly vain talk.

To realize who we are and where we stand, we need to focus on God, not on worldly topics, and enjoy conversation and dialogue with Him, so that we can be transformed into those who are like Him, those who rightly preach the word of truth, and those who delight in His word!

This is not our effort, but God's work!

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.