"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth."
2 Timothy 2:15
Part 2
Yesterday: Always Do Your Best for Jesus
“Study.”
Believers, be diligent and do your best in every thought and action you do for God!
Today: We Are Presenting Ourselves to the Lord
“To show thyself.”
You have probably noticed, as have I, that in these days in which we live, it seems that people are craving for approval. Even those who say they are “Christians” can fall into this trap. Many who are on Facebook live by how many “likes” they get on their posts. Bloggers seek the approval of those who read their articles. And even our president does what he does base upon his “approval rating.” These “approval seekers” are really “approval junkies” who are constantly looking for their next “approval fix.” The problem with approval junkies is that they have the wrong goal. They are looking for approval from the wrong person.
The sad thing about all of this is that “human approval” is not what’s most important. God’s approval is. Believers, we are looking for God’s “well done, good and faithful servant.” It is His approval that makes all the difference for us in our lives. We cannot have His approval if we live for ourselves and ignore what the Scriptures say about God and His expectations of us.
“For do I now persuade men or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
“To Show”
These words mean “to present”[1] (JFB). They’re the exact words that Paul used in Romans.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).
“To show” means “to present a person for another to see and question,… to present or show”[2] (Thayer).
Believers, we are to be presenting ourselves to the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart. It’s not that He doesn’t see us and know all about us. He does. But we show ourselves to Him because we want God to know that what He thinks matters to us. We are looking for His smile.
“Thyself”
Paul addressed Timothy in this letter. He wanted him to know that his concern here is specifically for him, that he will present himself personally to the Lord. In verse 14, Paul told Timothy to “charge THEM before the Lord.” But in verse 15, he tells Timothy to present himself (“THYSELF”) to the Lord. So Timothy will have two jobs here; he challenges his people to live right, before the Lord. At the same time, he is showing himself to the Lord. Pastors (and Timothy) need to live right before the Lord because they are to be testimonies to the Body of Christ.
God’s servant Timothy and those of us who serve the Lord today have much to live up to. Come back tomorrow when we talk about being “approved unto God.”
Quote: “I have come to see clearly that life is more than self. It is more than doing what I want, striving for what will benefit me, dreaming of all I can be. Life is all about my relationship with God. There is no higher calling, no loftier dream, and no greater goal than to live, breathe and be poured out for Jesus Christ”[3] (Brother Andrew).
[1] JFB. Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Brother Andrew’s (Andrew van der Bijl) quote is from “The Calling.” Downloaded: Friday, July 23, 2021. From: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/living-for-christ.