2 TIMOTHY 3:14-17 BEING EQUIPPED

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

If St. Paul can be trusted as a teacher because of his manner of life and willingness to suffer (vv. 10-12), how much more should we rely on the Scriptures which have been authored by the Creator who has manifested himself to us as the Suffering Servant? The Bible is not a set of rules to be observed, but a relationship to be lived. While rules dictate our behavior, God’s Word reveals to us not only how we are to live our lives, but why we are to do so. It goes beyond the superficial adherence to a code and deep into the hidden places of our motivations and attitudes. It does not seek to conform our lives, it transforms them.

Only through Scripture can we know who God is, and therefore, know who we are. Serious time spent with the biblical text will reveal a God who is raw righteous power. Think about it, he spoke everything into being; every atom, every star, every creature, every nanosecond, and even everything we have not yet discovered or measured! When we dismiss the miracles of Jesus and try to smooth out the difficult statements and demands he makes, we deny ourselves the opportunity to come to a knowledge of God’s true power. When we look at everything through the lens of our personal advantage we miss the arbitrary and unwarranted nature of his grace and love by reasoning that he does it all for us. A thorough and continuous engagement with Scripture is the corrective for our lack of enthusiasm for dedicating all we have and all we are to God. If we read the Bible seriously, we will come to know God as the awesome power that is over this creation and to know ourselves as dependent creatures blessed by God. When we truly come to understand this there is only one possible response to God. We will have to offer our all to God for we will not be able to do otherwise. Then we will be able to live our lives properly equipped to fulfill God’s will in the world.

Awesome Father, fill me with a hunger to study and know your Word, so that I might come to know you as you have revealed yourself to your people. Give me an inquiring mind that seeks answers to the questions that arise in my heart and soul and looks to the Spirit for clarification. May I ever be challenged, corrected, and trained by Scripture so that I might be equipped to fulfill my call to witness for you in the world. Amen.