May 26 - Validate Me

May 26 - Validate Me - 2 Timothy 2:22-26

Diane says:
In Paul's eyes, Timothy was still a young man. By this time he was probably in his 40s, yet he still had a lot of growing up to do. I wonder how much of that was like the way my father refused to believe that Carol and I were actually capable of making decisions well into our 40s.

His advice to Timothy was to stay away from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Avoid arguments because of where they can lead and avoid quarrels because it is so important to bring people to God rather than push them away.

Paul had come a long way from the raging dynamo that held cloaks at Stephen's execution. The Lord had touched him and gentled him to a man who believed in kindness and gentleness. He knew that these were the things needed to draw people away from a life of sin and to knowledge of truth.

Rebecca says:
When it comes to Christianity there are few things I love more than the Word of God. I love the scriptures. They are like little kaleidoscopes that always contain the same colors but take on different shapes and forms with just the twist of a thought or one little change in the way you look at them. One single verse can have a myriad of meanings and they are so rich and thick and full that I believe we could feast on them daily our entire lives and never pick them to the bone.

The Bible became God’s love letters to me those first few years. At night after my son was in bed I would dig under the covers with my Bible, notebook and pen. He and I went line by line through the New Testament and He dazzled me and wooed me with every word. These verses that I thought I knew took on new meanings and created new thought patterns. They are so beautiful that they easily became the reason I write. I get so caught up in their beauty that it is hard for me to keep it to myself and I want to shout and share it with the world.

The problem was that within those first few years I was still what most considered 'spiritually young' and so not many were very receptive to me trying to share or discuss ideas or thoughts on theology. They pacified me but rarely took me seriously and it was INCREDIBLY frustrating. Due to that frustration I often got into arguments just because I wanted to be heard. I jumped into debates because I wanted to be taken seriously, and I often went home after church activities and cried because of the absolute head banging irritation of it all.

I had many conversations with God about this; often I was yelling and wondering why He made me want to share it? Why couldn’t I just keep to myself the things He taught me? Why did it feel like a hole was burning in my chest if I couldn't let it out? If I was suppose to talk, why didn’t He help me in my delivery or incline their ears toward what I had to say. Why was it such a struggle?

Just when I was ready to blame God and everyone else, God posed a little question to me. Was all my talking and sharing and debating because I wanted them to understand God or because I wanted to be understood? Was I upset because I was sharing these thoughts and ideas for validation? Why did it matter if they agreed? If I truly believed they were from God then did it really matter who said what about any of it? God brought me to my knees because my intentions had very little to do with Him and everything to do with my own insecurities, doubts, ego and flesh.

The beauty of God's Word is that truth is the truth whether it is recognized or not. It does not matter if what we share is received well, or believed, or even laughed at or mocked. It will not change the truth. The only time those things have any power is when what we speak or teach is false or human. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and the one sure fire way of finding out which is which is by throwing them in the fire. Toss it out there and if it remains even after it is stabbed and poked and ripped and torn and shredded, then it was of Him and otherwise it was just my own stupid notion that I had mistakenly called Divine.

God has no need to defend, no need to prove anything and the more we understand of Him the less we need to rely on our own desires and cravings to be right or understood or validated. Once we know this we can do just as Paul says and “flee from the desires of our youth” and pursue righteousness. When we can fully turn our backs on our own insecurities which cause us to need agreement, or understanding, or acknowledgement from human forms, when we can fully flee from those things and instead turn toward God and pursue His righteousness, faith, love and peace, it is then that we are finally of some use to Him. Then that we are finally stable and steady enough to be the vessel we are truly called to be.

When we are still caught up in all the insecurities of youth that cause evil desires such as fame, fortune, perfection, and approval there is no way we are steady and stable enough to hold the weighty truth of who He is. But if we all flee just as Paul recommends to his friend Timothy, and instead pursue more of Him and less of our youth then we are well on our way to doing some great stuff for him.

It is because of this that I have little use for Ponce De Leon or the fountain of youth but instead hope to become the type of person that keeps moving forward. However, I am 39 and the occasional need for validation still rears its ugly head. I am a work in progress - what can I say. Thank goodness He is patient and gives me little tidbits like 2 Timothy to remind me what direction I should be headed!