The Book of 2nd Timothy - Being a Christian during Troubling Times

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7

Scholars are largely in agreement that Second Timothy was written after Paul’s death by one of his contemporaries.  In those days, this was a common practice, for students to honor their teachers by caring forward their message and style and attributing the work to their teacher.

In many ways, Second Timothy follows this pattern the author of the letter seeks to inspire Timothy and the congregation that Timothy leads, to continue in the faith as Paul did.  Throughout the letter Paul is upheld as an ideal apostle who, in the face of struggle and hardship, persevered in the faith despite pain and suffering.

In the time of Paul and Timothy, Christians were not a majority group.   They were persecuted for their beliefs and often faced terrible punishments, imprisonments, and worse.  As a result, many were weary of being identified as a Christian.

Similarly, in our world today there can be times when it is hard to call oneself a Christian, but for different reasons.  Due to sinful actions today and throughout history, Christians are often seen as the ones who perpetuate violence, hatred, and intolerance in our world and so many are weary of identifying themselves as a Christian.
 
However, the words of Second Timothy remind us today, just as they reminded Christians in the 1st Century,  “do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.”  Our call is to remain committed to The Gospel and it’s message of love and hope for all the world.  While this message might be rejected or perverted by others, we are called to continue to insist upon the message of Jesus Christ.