Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
(2 Tim. 2:3-7, NIV)
As a ministry team, we can learn a lot by reading a letter written to a minister. 2 Timothy shows us that endurance is not pointless. We are not just holding on for the sake of holding on, we endure because we are working for something. The soldier, the athlete, and the farmer all work hard and endure because they know the purpose and goal of their effort. The soldier knows for whom he is working, and thus abstains from civilian activities. He endures rigorous training for the sake of his master. The athlete also constrains himself to play by the rules, because he knows that if he wins fairly he will win a crown. The farmer works hard in his field because he knows that the fruit of his labor will be food for his own table.
Here are Jesus' instructions for his disciples when they face hard times in ministry:
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Matt. 10:16-22)
This is as bad as it can get! Most of us will not have to face being arrested or beaten in church because of our obedience to Christ. Still, we sometimes get the sense that there are pitfalls all around, a point the text makes quite clearly here. Things will go wrong, consistently and dangerously.
In spite of everything that can and will go bad, though, whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. There is good news in the affirmation that hardship is not the final word for us. Salvation comes after hardship if we only hold on. This insight has the potential to completely change our perspective. There is hope at the end of the road, even when we are at the end of our rope. We just have to hang on.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
