May 4 - Faith or a Shipwreck?

Diane says:
I think that being Paul's go-to guy for the church in Ephesus might have been a more stress than I might want. But, Timothy was right in the midst of the battlezone. Prophecies had been spoken over him and Paul was instructing Timothy based on those prophecies. Much was expected of this young man and he was being mentored by one of the most powerful men in Christ. That's quite a lot for one young man.

Paul encouraged him to hold onto faith and a good conscience. He used those same words in 1 Timothy 1:5 and then again 1 Timothy 3:9. These are important to understand. Paul gave us weapons to use in spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10-17, but he emphasizes these over and over in this letter to Timothy. Strength in one will accompany strength in the other.

Failure in either one or the other will lead to destruction as shown in the example of Hymenaeus and Alexander. Being handed over to Satan means that they were excommunicated from the church which Paul saw as a haven and protection from evil. Notice though that this was to be a learning experience, they weren't being cursed to hell.

Rebecca says:
I thought it was interesting that Paul used the phrase “faith and good conscience” three different times. Since those are obviously important words, I asked why? The first time Paul speaks of it, he spells the reason out clearly. From them love springs forth and if we abandon love, we are most certainly destined for a shipwreck of infinite proportions.

The shipwreck metaphor is so accurate. We are just vessels, our lives giant hulls fashioned to help thoughts, ministries, and people journey through life. If Jesus is the living water, then just as surely as ships sail, do we rest and stay afloat by his love and grace. When I think of waves caused by tempest winds crashing against the boat I am reminded of the verse in Psalm 78:39 "He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return." If Jesus is the water, it is man that is the breeze that creates the waves in this life and makes his placid, peaceful existence deceptively choppy.

Paul knew a little something about shipwrecks. There are 11 recorded instances of Paul’s sea travels covering 3500 miles in Luke alone. The man experienced 3 shipwrecks, so he knew his way around a boat and a disaster. The most significant was recorded in Acts 27. Paul was consulted as to whether the crew should sail or not because of his experience with the seas and travel. Then the advice was "ignored by the pilot and owner of the vessel." A majority vote was taken and they were willing to risk everything to deliver their cargo.

These men were hungry to deliver their cargo, anxious to accomplish the task, and quick to reap the monetary reward for doing so. When we fool ourselves into believing that our life, this vessel, is our own, suddenly our course is determined by our own agenda. We become task-minded and set our sights on the reward upon delivery. With that reasoning we have no room or need for faith.

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Of what use is hope and why would we bother believing in things we can’t see when we pilot our own ship? To do so would be to loosen our grip on control and embrace the fact that our way may not be the right way and would take admitting that we don't know everything.

Paul understood this, having lived this experience physically as a traveler, and symbolically as a persecutor, and I bet those experiences are why he continued to encourage Timothy with this same phrase over and over.

Am I at this ship's helm? Do I believe I am the pilot of this vessel, and if so, am I willing to concede my title and rank and let the One with more experience and understanding guide me along choppy seas? Am I willing to abandon my task-set mind? Am I able to keep my eye focused on the eternal prize? Will my path be decided by a majority vote from the people around me or from my Lord?

I don't want to lose my hold on faith and a good conscience. I want to be a vessel filled with a cargo of love that springs from those two things, and I definitely do not want to be shipwrecked on an island with Hymaneus and Alexander. So I step out of my captain's chair and I am gladly demoted to first mate. My Lord can handle the reins of this ship. After all, who better to navigate stormy seas than someone who has walked on them?