保羅首先用士兵和他一生的艱苦忍耐作例子。當兵並不容易，他必須離開家園和自己所愛的人。他常要長途跋涉地遠征，吃定量配給的軍糧，要風餐露宿，還要面對戰爭和死亡的威脅。他不能享受一般平民的生活。他有自己的職份，而且必須堅守崗位。信徒的生命有許多方面就像當兵一樣。而基督徒最首要的想法就是取悅於他的長官──耶穌基督。

接著，第5節則以運動員為例，他參加比賽的目標，是為了爭奪獎牌。韋莫夫（Weymouth）將這節翻譯為：「無論哪一位運動員，若不遵守比賽規則，就絕對沒有奪標的機會。」基督徒生活的準則就在神的話語中。詩人說神的話「是我腳前的燈，是我路上的光」。這意味著神的話語為我們照亮前路，我們必須跟從神的話語而行，神話語的亮光永遠指引我們當行的路。

保羅還沒有說完，他希望提摩太面對工作的勞苦，在服侍基督的工作上碩果纍纍。他在第6節提醒提摩太，農夫必須勞苦作工，才能得著豐收。「勞力的農夫理當先得糧食。」但收穫的時候，喜樂是多么的大。而曾經做出最初準備工作的農夫一定比任何人更加快樂。保羅藉此勉勵提摩太，為主作工雖然辛苦，但都值得。

最後，保羅再次重申福音的偉大真理。「提摩太，你要記著，我們若與基督同死，也必與祂同活。我們若能忍耐，也必和他一同作王。因此，不要輕言放棄，一切的辛勞都必有回報。求神幫助你忠心到底。當記著，耶穌基督是信實的，祂必不丟棄你。」這段信息給我們何等大的鼓勵！讓我們堅持到底，為主打美好的仗！

Day 17

BE STRONG AND FIGHT ON

2 Timothy 2: 1-13

1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

6 The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.

7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

8 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,

9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.

10 Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

11 This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.

12 If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.

13 If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.

Message

As he writes to his son in the faith, Paul uses every figure of speech he can think of to help his young friend stand firm for Christ. He is like a coach going over every part of an athlete’s preparation for the race ahead. He does so because he wants him to win.

Paul’s first comparison is to the life of a soldier and the hardships soldiers endure. A soldier’s life is not often easy. He has to leave home and loved ones. He must undertake long marches while living on army rations, often sleeping on the ground, plus the threat of war and its dangers. He must not become involved in civilian affairs. He has a job to do and must stick with it. The application of these thoughts to a believer’s life is plain to see. The Christian’s first thought must be to please his commanding officer - Jesus Christ.

Then verse 5 introduces the attitude of an athlete who wants to win the prize offered. Weymouth translates this verse, “A competitor in any game is not crowned unless he observes the rules of the game.” The rules concerning our Christian behaviour are all found in the Word of God. The Psalmist spoke of it as a “lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” It has been suggested this means that the light illuminates the path ahead so that as we move ahead, the light is always showing us the way to go.

Paul isn’t finished yet. He wants Timothy to face up to the work involved in fruitful service of Christ. In verse 6 he reminds Timothy how much hard labour must be put into any field if it is to bring forth a harvest. “Labour must precede reward.” But there is real joy when the harvest is brought in and no one will enjoy it more than the man who did the initial work of preparation. I know what it’s like Timothy but it will be worth it all.

Then Paul re-iterates the great facts of the Gospel once more. “Remember we died with Christ but we are going to live with Him forever. If we put up with all that is heaped on to us, one day we will reign with Christ forever. It will be worth it all, Timothy. Don’t give up. Ask God to help you to be faithful to the end. Remember Jesus Christ is the faithful one and He will never let you down.” What an encouraging message for everyone of us today. Let’s “keep on fighting the good fight of faith for Jesus” sake.