A Holy calling

From: March 20-26, 2007 Study: # 486 TOPIC: “A Holy calling” 2 Timothy 2:1-13

It is not our human capacity but the calling that God has made on our lives. Nowadays a minister is not seen as in Paul's times. Today a minister is seen as an amulet of luck. Many have come to think that a minister only brings blessings and they don't see them as servants and representatives of God in this world. In these days we also represent God just as in Paul did in his time. In the days of Paul and Timothy things were different. For a minister it was very difficult because he had many problems. For such reason, Paul admonished Timothy, his disciple, in a very intimate character, as well as we are admonished, by the "Timothy’s" of these times, on our “Sacred Calling,” which we have on behalf of God. For this reason it is necessary to take care of it, to live in sanctity and to understand that we are not part of this world. Paul was completely involved in his calling. Because we are part of the Gospel we will have many afflictions because we are submerged in sufferance. Each person lives there own life; God has given us a life and has prepared each one of us. What He wants from each one of us is individual. No one works and lives the same. We don’t all have the same calling. We should see each other as individual persons, each one working in what God wants. Paul was prepared in many sacrifices. He gave Timothy advice on how much he should take care of this stomach. How fearful Timothy could have been because of the great responsibility of conserving with much care the teachings that he had received from Paul. Our calling is Sacred and as such we have to conserve it for the rest of our lives. Paul was after Timothy, taking care of him, watching over him all the time. We have to answer to our call. Paul was very conscious that one day we will all have to present ourselves before Christ's Tribunal to be accountable. Human beings don't like to be accountable because we like to do things according to our own will, according to our own thoughts. But, when we have a sacred calling it is not according to our thoughts but according to the love, and faith and obedience. This was an overburden on Timothy's body. Many had turned their backs on Paul, for this reason he writes to Timothy. Timothy was a man called by God. When we have a calling we cannot turn our backs on what is sacred. A calling is something sacred that is within us. When this is upon us there is nothing that can take it away from us. One can see that for those who turned their back on Paul it was better for them to turn back, because walking with Paul was going to bring them many worries. For such reason the best thing to do was to stay away and without the worries. Timothy understood clearly what being a disciple meant. Paul encouraged him to bear the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God. Powerful is God who has called us. Paul spoke very clearly to Timothy about participating of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power in God. God is not small, but we are. He has great power. It is not our strength to do but our great resistance, because we can resist and God will be the one that will do. We don't know how to do anything; everything is according to the power and to the capacity of God and not ours. Blessed are we that being small and limited we have the power of God who has called us.

Paul tells Timothy that he is part of something great and honorable, part of the afflictions for Christ. We are honorable people when we participate in these afflictions. We will have afflictions and we will have to struggle. We cannot live in the clouds. Suffering for Christ is the most sublime glory that can be reached by a human being in this world. God calls us, He chooses, and in many occasions there are afflictions that we must live through and suffer. We cannot run away from it because if we do then we are not pure but cowards and the honors will be removed from those who act cowardly. We are soldiers of the first line, because the brave are sent to the first line. If we don't experience this the power of God will never be known to us. How then will we be able to see God’s power manifest in us in proportion to our necessity? How will we see when God opens doors, closes doors and delivers us from so much evil? The power is in God. Our burden can come in a moment, but nobody will be able to oppress us. The only way that we can gain anything is by struggling. As long as we don’t discover the reality of the situations we will be moved easily. As long as we are battling we are the ones who will dominate the situation. All those who struggle will conquer their loved ones. We will never win a battle until we become part of a living battle. There is nothing to fear. We have to stop trying to escape and begin to experience the afflictions so that we will know the power of God. The reason of our existence is that we are saved. We have been called with a sacred calling, and as Paul exhorted Timothy to be diligent and courageous, we must respond in the same way to God when He calls us. A calling is not a celebration. How much do we give ourselves to this sacred calling? In this calling we must be diligent and courageous. God saved us, and delivered us from the power of sin, of this world and of Satan. We are chosen before the foundation of the world, God had already thought of us. Then, why don't we allow God’s power to remain manifested in our lives? We don't allow it because we are not willing to go through afflictions. God becomes great, but we have to know that we have to be involved in the afflictions of this gospel. The brave will become involved in the suffering. This is not because of our work or how good we are but because He chose us and we decide if we are going to say yes or no. He wants us to respond to His calling without any conditions or price. We are special to Him, because before the eternity He chose us. Then we cannot allow any demon to speak to us and tell us that we are no good because we have a sacred calling and we must respond to him here in this world to that calling. God will keep our deposit for that day when we arrive before Him. Great and powerful is the God in whom we have believed. Paul advised to sustain the word just as he had learned it. This word is not to make us feel comfortable but to retort, to teach and to exhort. The days will declare who our friends are, who has a pure love. In this way no effort will become a burden but a pleasure. In this calling which God has made to us, we may have to remain alone, but that doesn't mean that God has turned His back on us. He will always work in us, it is His promise. Amen.