2 Timothy 2:3 You therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Endure hardness. We are all endangered by ease and self-indulgence. The soft south wind of worldly comfort enfeebles us. Dangerous, for to the soldier nerveless strength is death; and the great campaign requires on our part energy and courage all through. I. IT IS HARD TO SUBJUGATE THE PRESENT WORLD. In the fourth verse Paul speaks of the "affairs of this life," in which Timothy, like the rest of us, was in danger of" being entangled;" and unquestionably, apart from evil, the innocent side of the present life is most attractive to us, in all its forms of pleasure seeking and outward prosperity and honour. II. IT IS HARD TO SUFFER REPROACH AND SHAME. How hard only those know who have felt the constant irritant of a relentless persecution for righteousness' sake. "I suffer trouble," says Paul, "as an evil doer. And this was the great trial of the early Christians - not merely bonds and imprisonments, but the calumnies which made them the scorn of men. The grace of God can sustain us in all our tribulations; but it requires "hardness" to "endure as seeing him who is invisible" when the character is subjected to human scorn and hatred. - W.M.S. Parallel Verses KJV: Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.WEB: You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. |
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