2 Timothy 1:1-18 Never be ashamed of the Cross

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy; having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you; which lived first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in you also.For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News. For this, I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day. Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me 18 (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy in that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well. In Paul's former letter to Timothy, he was giving him instructions on how to run the church and choose its leaders. Now he is stating that he and his son in the faith have been called by God since before the world began. There was a time when I was a young man where someone criticized my boss. I became fighting mad with this person. Why? It was not me that I was concerned, instead the one whom I represented and held up high. In the same way, in these verses and in the book to come, Paul expresses to Timothy to not be ashamed of him. Why? It is because who Paul represents who is the eternal Son of God who came to earth to take away the sins of the world so that whoever believe in him will have eternal life. We are never to be ashamed of the cross because it was through the Cross that God in his infinite wisdom chose to save those who trust in his Son. Amen.