Text: “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Tim 2:3-4, ESV).

Context, Context, Context: The apostle Paul was writing this epistle to his son in the faith, Timothy, in the mid-60s of the 1^st century A.D. And Paul had one overarching theme: perseverance.  

Reason for Writing: Why did God inspire Paul to write this epistle about perseverance? Because hardship and trials are to be expected. They’re inseparable from soldiering—especially if we are Christians. We have our commander’s mission, but Christians are likewise called to honor the Lord in everything we do, and in the manners in which we serve. Our character should redound to the glory of God. We are to be salt and light amidst the moral decay and cultural rot.

Our aim, Paul writes, “Is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Tim 2:4, ESV). In our parlance, we might say this is nothing other than mission focus. It’s being on guard against mission creep, where distractions and loss of focus can threaten to derail us from keeping the main thing the main thing.

Encouragement: In another epistle, the same apostle Paul wrote, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9, ESV). All this comes from a man who counted the costs, finished the race, and inherited the crown fashioned by the greatest Commander. Let us persevere in the mission and in the great commission.