Bible Bites
Not a Time for Jelly Fish
The very term ‘last days’ conjures up images of dark clouds hanging low overhead. When Paul wrote the last time to his Christian friend and co-worker Timothy it was the last days for Paul. Writing from a prison cell, as he awaited his execution, there was no question about it – the countdown was on. Paul’s days were numbered and his time on earth was drawing to an end. They were last days for him.
The Apostle wasn’t so much concerned about his own last days and whether he had a year, or a month or a week left. The last days that occupied Paul’s mind was the period that extended from the apostolic age – Paul’s day until the return of the Lord when He would set all things straight. They are far from straight today as you read this – that’s because we are living in the last days.
Paul was heading up to Heaven soon to be with Christ which he considered to be ‘very far better’ – but what about the Gospel? In the last days, who would be careful to not only protect the message but to keep on preaching it as well? Did Timothy have the backbone to stand up against the evil of the last days or would he be like a jellyfish and flip-flop all over the place when the going got rough? Would he be putty-like – taking on whatever shape he was pressured into by the stronger personalities around him? Legitimate concerns for dear old Paul as he passed on the torch.
He doesn’t mince his words to Timothy. Rather sharply and unmistakably clear he writes to Timothy: “Don’t kid yourself and don’t be naïve as to what you and the Gospel are up against in these last days. It’s not a time for wimps or the faint-hearted. Don’t be optimistic that external conditions will improve or become more favorable. Before the Lord returns there will be fierce times of distress: yes, Timothy – I mean fierce! Are you getting what I’m saying? Let me paint the picture for you and remind you that YOU must play a pivotal role during your lifetime to preserve, protect and to preach the Gospel and the Word of God. Here’s the unexaggerated sketch I’ll draw on the canvass of your mind:”
But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.
For men shall be
LOVERS of self,
LOVERS of money,
boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable,
slanderers, without self-control, fierce,
no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up,
LOVERS of pleasure rather than LOVERS of God;
holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof:
from these also turn away.
(2Timothy 3:1-5 ASV)
No, it may not have been the message Timothy wanted to hear but he needed to hear it. We need to hear it today. It applies to me. It applies to you. You are living in a hostile, anti-god world. Don’t cozy up to it. Don’t be like a jelly-fish. Be a Christian with backbone. Jesus Christ was brutally treated and killed on the very planet He created and by the creatures He made. The world and all its systems and products today have never changed their mind about Christ. He is still despised. Why would I ever think there is something in this godless world that I should go in for and enjoy?
“Lord, preserve me in this godless age. Give me the backbone and strength to be faithful and true to You. Give me the wisdom I need to be an effective witness for Christ and rekindle within me that passion to love You will all my heart and soul and mind. I love Thee Lord.”
Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.
Warmly in Christ
Peter Ramsay