Carry the message

TODAY'S READING: 2 Timothy 1:3-14
In 490 B.C., a soldier named Pheidippides ran from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece to Athens, bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died. To this day millions of people all over the world run marathons that originated from this one man's run.We as Christians have been entrusted with a message as well. And as I think about Paul writing about "running the race," I wonder if he was thinking about the story of Pheidippides.
Here Paul is writing another letter to his "son in the faith," Timothy. As Paul writes what many consider to be his farewell address, he concentrates on communicating to Timothy the things of greatest importance.
In the passage we read today, Paul is reminding Timothy of the great message he has been entrusted to carry and deliver. Here is the message as Paul summarizes it in verses nine and ten...

It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began--to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everlasting life through the Good News.

And as Paul is encouraging Timothy by reminding him of the love of God, he also reminds Timothy that God has not left us to accomplish this task alone. We have been given the Holy Spirit to encourage and guide us on the journey.
Paul tells us that we have been given a Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. It is virtually impossible for us to fully have any of these things on our own, but when we trust in God and allow the Spirit to control our lives, we will be filled with power, love, and self-discipline. We will be able to accomplish much more with the Holy Spirit that we can do without Him.
In addition, the Holy Spirit is there to help us guard what we have been given. He will help us in the way we deliver and live out the message. The Holy Spirit will help us when we are not sure what to say or how to live. But this will only happen when we accept the Spirit's presence and provide a spiritually healthy environment.
I believe that the ability of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives is much like the ability of a plant to grow. If we don't feed, water, and provide good soil for a plant, it will wither up and be weak. The same will happen if we don't feed, water, and provide good spiritual soil for the Holy Spirit.
We can never weaken God, but we can weaken His ability to work in our lives. He has given us the freedom to decide whether or not we will fully commit to Him. And when we use that freedom to deny Him, we will be weakened.
We have all been entrusted with a message that means life and death to us and those around us. And we have been given the Holy Spirit to help us along the way. But the question is, how are we treating our Helper? Are we providing the right environment so He can fill us with the power, love, and self-discipline that will allow us to finish the race and deliver the message of "Victory?" That part is up to you.

shine!
Jason