“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
(2 Timothy 2:1)
Worship leader John Mark Pantana has a deep, tangible understanding that God loves him. I find listening to his songs really helpful in my own times with the Lord. It’s a type of music that’s stripped back of religion and simply adores Jesus and his grace. One of the songs is called ‘Jesus is the vibe’ and the lyrics almost erupt in thankfulness about the kindness of God permeating every aspect of every day life: “Glory in the business/
Glory in the streets/ Glory in the eyes /Of the people I meet.”
And there’s a personal challenge to understand the immensity of what it means to be God’s child: “Crazy thinking that I didn’t used to believe /That the glory of God is living inside of me.”
The apostle Paul understood that we are weak in our humanity. That’s why he instructed his apprentice Timothy to be strong in grace, not strong in himself. It’s the glory of God not the glory of self, which lives inside us, as Pantana sings. Paul also attributes that grace within the person of Jesus and nowhere and no one else.
Furthermore, he says later in verse 8: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead…” I think we can be good at remembering the narrative of Jesus in churches and such contexts. A typical church calendar will tick boxes as we celebrate traditions such as Lent, Easter, Christmas and so on. But it arguably can feel like telling the story of someone who used to be here and isn’t anymore. So we tell stories to remember him.
But that is not the calling of the gospel. We are not asked to merely remember Jesus Christ. Instead, we are directed to “remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead” (2 Timothy 2: 8a). It’s impossible to remember him without remembering that he is alive. It’s an inexorable link! And that changes – or should change – our whole perspective of following him.
Being strong in the grace in Christ Jesus means living fully in the truth that he is alive, and his glory lives in us. So, what does this mean to you? What does that mean to me? How do we react? How does that affect our lives and what we do with them?
Remembering Jesus who was resurrected and defeated evil. Living strongly in his grace, not in our own efforts (we have more effective lives by walking in his kindness anyway, not in what the world offers). It’s good to think about these truths and be strong in them – and act lovingly in response!
Jesus came back to life from the dead. It was impossible for death to hold onto him (Acts 2:24). What are we going to do about that?
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