I Know In Whom I Have Believed

I Know In Whom I Have Believed

June 6, 2012

Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O'Sullivan

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.  For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.  So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.

He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus before time began, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, for which I was appointed preacher and Apostle and teacher.  On this account I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know in whom I have believed and am confident that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.  (2 Timothy 1:6-12)

Piety

O Spirit of God, enkindle in my heart the fire of your love.

Study

Just two Wednesdays ago, we saw Paul saying goodbye to the elders from the church in Ephesus, believing he would never see them again, and Jesus, in his final moments with the disciples, praying for his friends to be held close to the Father and each other when he is gone.  Today we have still another farewell.  Paul is in prison, most likely in Rome, and is writing a sort of last will and testament to his protégé Timothy.

He tells Timothy that he prays for him every day and reminds him of the gift of God Paul has imparted to him through the laying on of hands.  Whether or not this was an ordination, we’re not told.  The Apostle exhorts his younger friend to stir that gift into flame.  Again, we’re not told why Paul feels the need to say this.  Has Timothy become complacent?  Is he discouraged or afraid?  We do know that by the time this letter is written, there is much strife within the young Christian community and some Christians are forsaking their faith and leaving.

Maybe we need to read Paul’s words as addressed us today.  When I look at the congregation on Sunday mornings, my parish church has many more empty seats than it did 10 or 15 years ago.  When I look around the table at weekly staff meetings at work, I see several Catholics who have left the church in the time I’ve worked there.  From what I read online and in various publications, many Protestants could say the same thing about their churches.

So what is it that keeps the apostle Paul going in the midst of adversity?  Keep in mind, he’s imprisoned for no other reason than his faith and preaching.  I think the key lies in the line where he says, “I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know in whom I have believed…”  Paul never met Jesus until after his death and resurrection, but he doesn’t just say he knows about the Lord; he says “I know him.”  If we merely know about Jesus Christ, if he’s just another piece of information in our heads, it’s easy to walk away when problems and dissension arise.  But, if we know Jesus as our closest friend and Savior and have an ongoing relationship with him, we aren’t so likely to walk away when the going gets tough.  I couldn’t desert a friend anywhere nearly as quickly as I can forget an idea.

Action

Take a few minutes today and think about your closest friends.  How did they get to be in your inner circle?  What keeps them there?  When problems arise, what stops you from just walking away?

It takes time to build up relationships and commitment to keep them going.  The same is true in our relationship with the Lord.  If we truly want to know God and not settle for just knowing something about him, we have to set aside time for him.  We have to read the Scriptures and hear God speaking to us through them.  We need to have that two-way conversation (speaking and listening) with him that we call prayer. 

If you neglect your friends, you’ll find that some of them go on to something or someone else.  The wonderful thing about God is that he never deserts us.  It’s never too late to revive your friendship with him or deepen your relationship through prayer.