Metaphors fly at us as Paul leans into his instructions about the things Timothy should be focusing on. However, he starts at a familiar place for him and us: grace.
II Timothy 2:1-7
1. My child, you therefore must be strong in the grace of Messiah Jesus.
2. Entrust to capable people what you heard, both from me and many other witnesses, that they may teach others,
3. suffering together as good soldiers of Messiah Jesus.
4. No soldier on active duty gets bogged down with the issues of daily life, but rather he wants to please his commanding officers.
5. Likewise, if a person competes, he or she will not be crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
6. The hard working farmer must first have a share in the harvest.
7. Think about what I say. The Lord gives you discernment in all things.
My favorite definition of grace is an oldie but a goodie, ‘unmerited favor’. This emphasizes both God’s action of being kind but also my inaction of not earning it. What I am very uncertain of is the meaning of ‘be strong in the grace’. The word Paul uses is a favorite among preachers, linked to dynamic and dynamite etymologically but really neither of those have anything to do with the way its as used in the New Testament. The emphasis is more upon ability, power, or empower.
I really believe what Paul is telling the troubled pastor is that his ministry must be focused and themed upon grace as opposed to judgment, law, or knowledge. Grace is the opposite of things we love to focus on like efficiency, financials, rhetoric, or accomplishments. Grace is intangible and unmeasurable this side of eternity. Being strong in that is what sets ministry apart from the rest of society.
Setting grace as a foundation, he launches into three metaphors (actually, there are four because the opening words ‘my child’ are actually a metaphor we could dwell on) which are as mixed as a fruit salad. First, there is the soldier. Like soldiers we suffer together. Paul wants Timothy to see himself as another brother-in-arms with him in the great warfare of spiritual things. But also, like soldiers, the goal is not earning pay for bread or keeping up with children’s gymnastic schedules. The goal is to please your commanding officer.
So we are like soldiers.
But we are also like athletes. Specially, we are like athletes who are competing for a crown. This is no doubt a reference to the laurels of victory placed upon the head of the victorious athlete. I point this out because I don’t think Paul is talking about a crown in heaven here. I am not saying there aren’t crowns in eternity but I am saying that is not what he means here. He is in metaphor-land. If I went dynamic equivalent here I might translate the text as ‘he or she will not raise the trophy unless she competes according to the rules.’ (2:5).
Timothy needs to be strong in grace, but at the same time the rules matter and he should compete by then. Also, be a good soldier and follow the guidance of your commanding officer.
Also, we are farmers.
How are we like farmers? Farmers who work hard get their share of the harvest first. This may not be a universal truism as kings, dictators, and communists often steal farmers labors off the top, yet we recognize Paul is talking of an ideal. Before the farmer takes his crop to market, he feeds his own family.
So Timothy is to be like a soldier-athlete-farmer.
Is your head hurting yet? Wait, it gets better. Because Paul refuses to connect the dots to these three metaphors. He simply tells Timothy that he should think on these things real hard, put your mind to it, boy, and the Holy Spirit will lead you to discernment.
Come on, Paul. Do better. These metaphors are interesting, and they are spiritually true, but finding a through-line for Timothy’s ministry in Ephesus is hard to get at from these three unrelated tropes. So, the only way we can get meaning is to disconnect them. They are not intended to be connected, but intended to be three different aspects of Christian ministry. If I do that, I come to three emphases:
Group Effort
Christian ministry is a group effort. We are not in this alone, but rather side by side with other people. We laugh together, we cry together, we pray to gather, we worship together. Part of our work is to grow this group, as empathized in v. 2 — ‘entrust to others’ what you have learned. In this endeavor, we do not focus upon our own daily issues, although they may be real, but our ultimate goal is our commanding officer’s orders, and our commanding officer is none other than Jesus. We eagerly desire to please him.
Personal Discipline
The athlete, though, is not involved in team sports. The ancient Greeks competed solo in sports like running, throwing, wrestling, and fighting. Paul was not telling us to be athletes, and indeed that metaphor is exhausted in the modern age in which athletes and sports are worshiped as gods, but he is pointing out the necessity of us to be know the rules, discipline our spiritual minds, and not be weak. This kind of discipline comes from study, prayer, and service.
Self-Feeders
The farming metaphor is easily lost if we don’t remember he is talking about eating. Before Timothy can feed others, he must and should feed himself. I do not think this is about literal eating, although it might be at times literal in the sense that if we don’t take care ourselves we are not strong enough to take care of others, but instead I think it is about spirituality. We must spiritually feed ourselves before we can feed others. Two thoughts on this. First, Timothy couldn’t rely on Paul to feed him. Paul could teach and guide and encourage, but the zeal and passion had to come from within Timothy himself. The second thought is the old euphemism I have held on to for decades; we can’t serve from an empty vessel. Rather, we minister out of the overflow. If we are empty, we are useless.
Today, as you live and work and be, which metaphor rings truer to you? Which one do you need to work on a little? Which one makes you feel a little uncomfortable?
Yeah, I bet Timothy had a similar reaction.