The Best Thing To Do

Sharing God’s grace and gospel is the best thing you can do.

Have you ever had to share anything with your siblings or your friends? How did you respond?

My brother and sister each have a daughter. Mercy, and Hunter. When our family was together, Mercy got a basketball. She was playing with it and sharing it with Hunter. Hunter who is 2, asked with a huge smile:

“Mercy, are you happy?”

“Yes!” Mercy responded.

“Me too, I’m happy you’re sharing with me.” Hunter replied.

We are not always so happy to share, or that grateful when others share with us. Paul challenged Timothy to share all that he’d receive, because it all came from God’s grace.

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join (Share) with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.  Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.”

(2 Timothy 2:1-5)

What are the two things Timothy has received? God’s grace and God’s gospel (the things you have heard). What is God’s grace good for? It is by God’s grace that we are forgiven of our sins, everything we ever thought, said, or did wrong. It is God’s grace that gives us life worth living on earth and in heaven. It is by God’s grace that we have a relationship with Him and it is that relationship that can get us through anything- even suffering.

What are the two things Paul wants Timothy to share? The gospel and in the suffering of the people of God.

Paul will explain the gospel he wants Timothy to share, but first he reminds him that sharing the gospel can be hard work. A commentator said it this way: “The condition of all success is hard work; toil which may involve pain.”

What are the types of people Paul compares Christians to here? Soldiers, athletes, farmers. Why these people? They are people who have to work hard, who will experience hardships, and who are rewarded for everything they have done. Think of the most challenging thing you have had to do: for sports, dance, school…etc. Did you do it because you felt like it? It seemed nice at the time? Or did you do it because of what would be the result of the hard work?

In the summers, I trained for soccer. It was hard work and much more difficult when I had to do it alone. I was always thankful when I had friends who would run alongside of me. Other people who were willing to do the same work as me and push toward the same goal. For those of us who put in the hard work, it paid off in fitness. As fellow believers, we struggle alongside each other towards the goal of sharing the gospel with others. That is the best thing you can do. But what if you fail to share God’s grace and gospel with others?

Paul says "If we are faithless, he remains faithful.”

(2 Timothy 2:13)

If we believe in Him, even when we mess up, He stays faithful to us and won’t give up on us. He has already given us His grace and gospel and He doesn’t do take backs. Receiving and sharing God’s grace and gospel is the best thing you can do.

Paul shares with Timothy

What is the gospel Paul wants to share?

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” (2 Timothy 2:8-10)

Remember Jesus? Why is it important that he is David’s descendant? He is the promised seed from the Garden (after the curse and the promise of grace and good news), He is the perfect King that the people were longing for, He is the one who rose from the dead to give us life! That is the good news that Paul wants to share with Timothy and wants Timothy to share with others. Paul was preaching truth, but his culture, the media and people in politics didn’t like his message so they sent him to prison. They thought by locking him up the gospel would stop spreading. Did it? No. In fact, Paul converted the people in the prisons, the guards and fellow prisoners, he kept writing letters that we still read today. Why? Because the gospel isn’t chained. Nothing can stop it, nothing can hold it back. Therefore, Paul was willing to do anything in order to share the news so that people could be saved from pain, sin, and death and experience God’s grace and gospel instead.

Paul goes on to say “Keep telling people about Jesus, keep serving God by accepting His gospel and grace and sharing it. Don’t fall for the lies on social media or from people who claim to know the truth, but don’t have a relationship with Jesus”(2 Timothy 2 paraphrase).

Paul says, those lies spread like Covid causing sickness and death in people’s hearts. Christians want the reverse of that. We want the truth to spread. Because when you accept what the Bible says about Jesus, your heart comes alive, and you can be used to spread His goodness and love with others. You can encourage your friends when their parents are fighting. You can say “no” to being rude or inappropriate with your peers, because you know that ultimately being kind will go better for all of you. God wants to use you . He wants to use you in school, at work, at home with your family and even your cousins like Mercy and Hunter. He wants you to know His truth, to live it, and share it. Sharing God’s gospel and grace is the best thing you can do.

We accept and share with others

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

(2 Timothy 2:24-26)

Why is it important that when you accept it you share it? What if Sarah got news that she got into college, but didn’t tell her parents? Or Kenzie got a job, but didn’t tell her friends? What if you were locked out of the house and your sibling had the key, but didn’t tell you? We do not keep good news to ourselves, especially when sharing it can save someone’s life. Timothy knew that he could share God’s grace and gospel by being kind. That’s why we share the basketball with the younger kid. Invite people to join you in having fun and being happy, instead of excluding them. If you view someone as an opponent, how do you treat them?

Me and Andrew used to play pick up soccer, always against Joe, Jake, and Allie. Then we started talking to them and being on the team with them, eventually we started being friends. What would have happened if I didn’t stop treating them like opponents when we played together? We would both lose. I had to stop treating people like my opponents and treat them like teammates who shared a common goal. God wants us to be kind and point others to Him so that they can know His grace and His gospel. How do we accept God’s grace and His gospel?

What is God’s grace? Have you experienced it? Where do you see God’s grace in the Bible? What is the gospel? Can you put it in words to someone? If you can’t, I encourage you to keep pursuing spiritual disciplines: reading your Bible, practice being quiet, and being alone with God. I urge you to know the truth. I want to encourage you to accept God’s grace and gospel and share it with others. It is the best thing you can do.