Journey Through The Bible
      Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 30-31
     New Testament Reading: 2 Timothy 4

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

They have taken everything.
They have taken his freedom—he’s locked in a Roman prison.
They have taken his possessions—he hasn’t even a shawl to keep him warm.
They have taken his churches—he will not see them again.
They have taken his future—he is sentenced to death.

What do you have left, Paul? What do you have left to show for your life?
Had you stayed a Jew in Jerusalem, you’d have a seat of status and a house of retirement.
Had you been more compromising, you might have gone unnoticed by the Romans.
Had you been less passionate, you might have pastored a church and stayed in one city.
But you were too convinced to compromise—too convicted to stay home.

And now, with the verdict rendered and the end in sight, what do you have left?

The old apostle leans forward with eyes twinkling and says, I have kept the faith (v7).

That was the heart of the apostle. And that is the heart of this letter. As far as we know, this is the last one he ever wrote. Paul picks up his pen one final time. He knows the end is near. I am already being poured out as a drink offering (v6), he tells Timothy, his son in the faith.

But he has no regrets, only counsel—practical, inspirational counsel for young Timothy, who has been left to lead the church in Ephesus. His tenderness for the young minister peeks out from behind every word. Be diligent, he urges, to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth (2Tim 2:15).

Timothy never had a teacher like Paul. The world has never had another teacher like Paul. He was convinced of two facts – he was once lost but then saved. He spent a lifetime telling every person who would listen.

In the end, it cost him everything. For in the end, all he had was his faith. But in the end, his faith was all he needed.