Gaining Perspective in Life

Gaining Perspective

2 Timothy 1:8-14

“For this reason, I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

                  The sage in Ecclesiastes 7:2  writes words that seem strange and out of place.  As he examines all the struggles and challenges in life, he states, “It is better to go to the house of mourning  than to go to the house of feasting because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart.” We like to avoid talking about death and the sense of finality it brings. No one ever goes to a funeral because they want to.  We go because we want to be a support to the family and express our respect and appreciation for the person who passed away.  

When we confront death, we gain a whole new perspective on life.  It strips away all our obsession with the insignificant and clarifies what is essential.  The certainty of death strips away the folly of material possessions and the futility of the pursuit of pleasure that so often prioritizes our lives.  When confronted with death, we realize that all the things of this world are ultimately futile, for they are temporary, and that the only things that genuinely matter are the things of eternal value.

                  2 Timothy is likely Paul’s final letter.  When Paul wrote the prison epistles during his first imprisonment, he was expecting his release (Phil. 1:12-20). Church tradition suggests that Paul was released and later arrested during the period of Nero’s persecution of Christians and subsequently beheaded. During this second imprisonment, Paul wrote to Timothy his final letter to pass the baton of ministry to Timothy.  As he wrote this final letter, it was under the executioner's shadow, and Paul recognized that death was imminent (4:7-8).  

                  Confronted with his death, Paul reminds Timothy of what is genuinely significant.  What is important is the gospel of Christ and the salvation Christ gives us.  As he faces the certainty of death, he finds security and comfort in the gospel of Christ, who gives us victory over death (vs. 10).                  

                  When faced with the certainty of death, Paul found comfort and confidence in the faith he embraced.  What gave him hope was his knowledge of God.  Paul writes that, “I know whom I have believed.”  For Paul, his perspective and faith were grounded in the nature of God.  God was faithful and would not abandon him even in the face of death.  Because of that certainty, Paul was “convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him.”  This sentence can have two meanings.  It may refer to what Paul has entrusted into God’s care: his life and ministry.  It can also refer to that which God has entrusted to Paul, namely the gospel message and his apostolic ministry.   But the two ideas are not mutually exclusive, for both convey Paul’s perspective.  Paul was entrusted with the preaching of the Gospel, a task that would cost him his life. As Paul fulfilled his ministry, he placed his life and ministry in the hands of God.  He lived with the confidence that God would achieve His purpose in Paul’s life and ministry and that he would be rewarded for his work.  As Paul stood at the end of his life, he recognized that the only thing of significance was his work and ministry on behalf of the gospel.  Because he had been faithful in proclaiming the gospel, he knew God was faithful to guard his life and work.  No matter the circumstances he faced, he was in perfect safety. When we have spent our life in obedience and service to Christ, we know that God assures our eternity and reward.  Confidence in the face of death comes when our focus is no longer on the temporal but the eternal. Death reminds us that the only thing important in life is our faith in God and service to him, for these are the only things in life that will last into eternity. Perspective comes when we view life from the context of death, for it reorients our perspective upon what is eternal rather than temporary. When that becomes our focus, we have a perspective for the present.