I have to admit that sometimes my circumstances can define how focused and passionate I am about living out the mission of Christ. If life is good, then I can find myself enthusiastically and joyfully seeking out Gospel opportunities. But when life is challenging or discouraging, I can find myself lacking the desire to look for those Gospel moments throughout the day.
And yet the call to proclaim the Gospel isn’t based on my circumstances. The apostle Paul says to preach the word in season and out of season. In other words, when its convenient or not convenient, when my circumstances are good and when my circumstances are not good.
These were not just words from Paul. He lived it out.
In 2 Timothy 1:1, he opened his letter to Timothy by saying, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus”.
Now, at first glance, that verse may not seem like Paul is saying anything significant about proclaiming the Gospel in difficult circumstances. But we need to take a closer look at what he is saying and where he is writing these words.
Let’s start with the “what”.
That phrase “according to” can also be read “for the purpose of…” And so Paul is stating his purpose as an apostle. The purpose is found in the phrase “the promise of the life we can have in Christ.” The promise is the Gospel.
Listen to how the New Living Translation translates verse 1:
“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Paul opened up this letter by saying, ‘I want you to know Timothy (and anyone else that reads this letter) what I am about.’ We might think that a letter to his dear friend Timothy (a fellow worker for the Gospel of Jesus Christ) would not need to make that statement. Timothy knows his purpose.
But Paul had a lifelong discipleship relationship with Timothy. Paul was constantly encouraging, spurring on, and setting the example for Timothy. And as chapter 1 will later reveal, Timothy may have been be in a place of discouragement and in a place of questioning his calling as a pastor. He may have been questioning his gifting and his effectiveness as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul’s purpose in this letter was to help Timothy remain focused on the ministry of the Gospel regardless of Timothy’s circumstances.
And so when Paul makes this statement: I, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ have been called to tell others about the life that we can have in Jesus Christ. He is speaking into Timothy’s life.
The other intriguing aspect about the opening statement is where Paul is writing these words. He is in a Roman prison waiting to be executed. If there was ever a time to become discouraged and even believe that your ministry has dried up and your work in the Gospel is over, this would be it. This might be the one season we give Paul a pass for not fully and enthusiastically living out his calling to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And yet Paul begins this letter not as a man who is defeated and discouraged but rather as a man who recognizes that because he woke up that morning his calling and purpose remains the same: I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.
Paul is saying: Timothy, I don’t know how things are going on your side of the world. I don’t know the challenges that you are facing but I want you to know, “my name is Paul and by God’s grace I am an apostle of Jesus Christ and I exists to proclaim the Gospel. This is who I am. This is what I do. My circumstances do not change that.”
Do you think he is trying to say something to Timothy? I know he is saying something to me.
As I read these opening words there is a challenge in my own life. That regardless of the circumstances that I am going through, it does not change my mission and purpose as a believer in Jesus Christ: I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.
And I don’t say that because my vocation is a pastor, I say that because I am a follower of Jesus. You have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus. And you have the privilege of saying those words regardless of your circumstances.
That is your calling, that is your mission, that is your purpose. Every single one of us should be able to look at the circumstances in our life and not become defined by those circumstances. But every single one of us should be able to look at our circumstances and come back to the reality that we have been called for a purpose: to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.
What are your circumstances right now? It is in that very place that God desires to use you to proclaim Him. May you be glad that where you are is where he wants to use you.