A Worker Not Ashamed
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."—2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)
Five years ago, I started this blog. I wanted to write, and while I had a sense of what I wanted to write about, I had a hard time pinpointing who I wanted to write to.
Today’s passage, I believe, is the best description of that person. In this final epistle from Paul preserved for us in Scripture, Paul writes to his young protégé in the faith, Timothy. He urges him in the primary task to which he bends all his efforts and labors: presenting himself to God as one approved. The way he handles the word is a tangible way in which he does this.
In my years in ministry, I have come to the conclusion that we all are ministers of the gospel. Some of us do this in a professional capacity. But more often than not, we are serving as ordinary people—in our work places, homes, neighborhoods, and churches.
While it’s easy to think that this verse is only for the pastors that need to go to seminary, Paul is describing “a worker” who is not ashamed. While figuratively, it could mean “teacher,” this word is most commonly used to describe field workers. It is the same word Jesus uses in Matthew 9:37-38 when he observes that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.
As I’ve been thinking about it, I’ve realized that this blog is for those, in whatever capacity or stage of life we’re in, who desire to labor for the Lord and help bring in this harvest. Ordinary people who love God and love others. Women who want to know His Word more deeply so that it changes their hearts. Women who want to encourage others with what she learns so they grow in their faith. Women with a heart to help people by pointing them to Christ.
In my own life and conversations, even in recent days, I am realizing that the women I love talking with most are looking for help, not just for their own problems, but how to bring God’s Word to help others. They’re moms needing help shepherding their children. They’re friends who are concerned for others they love who are going astray. They’re children praying for ways to minister to aging parents, not just physically but with the gospel of Christ. In each and every one of these situations, we have the opportunity to bring the Word we know and love and share it with others so they too might know the life God promises.
This is honorable work, and therefore we want to be actively learn how to understand and handle the Word—the message we are called to share—well. This requires, as Emlet points out the dual skills of being able to not only understand the Word well but understand people accurately. It is growing in the skill of being able to see the intersection and use Scripture wisely and winsomely to speak truth into the situation. He writes:
"Consider this book a hybrid of sorts, a resource to help you understand both people and the Bible more thoroughly... Both skills are necessary if you are to minister in a way that correctly 'handles the word of truth.' Both are necessary for effective ministry."—Michael Emlet, CrossTalk
That is what this series is about. If your heart’s desire is to not just know the Word for yourself but also to help others walk more faithfully with God, I hope you’ll stick around and join me for this next series. If you love God’s Word and want to steward it well, I hope this will help.
If you wish, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Michael Emlet’s book, CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet, and read along. It is the inspiration for this series. He covers the ideas in far more depth than I could. I’ll follow it on a high level, but if you want depth, I strongly encourage you to invest in a copy. In his words, “the overall goal of this book is to help you live a biblically rich, Christ-centered life in community with fellow believers.”
Amen!
