So you, my son, be strong (strengthened inwardly) in the grace (spiritual blessing) that is [to be found only] in Christ Jesus. And the [instructions] which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust [as a deposit] to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also.

 

Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down). [It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits.

 

Think over these things I am saying, [understand them and grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything.  2 Timothy 2:1-7 NIV

 

Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.

 

As Christians, we are called to serve the kingdom of God. We are soldiers in the kingdom of God. A first-class soldier is dedicated to the service of the one who called him. He is prepared to endure anything to please his commanding officer. A soldier does not lead a cushy life.

 

His life is hard, but he is wholly committed to the cause. He would even give his life if it were necessary. 1 Corinthians 7:23 says, “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” We belong to Jesus. Jesus enlisted us into His service. We should not get entangled in things that distract us from our call or that are not beneficial to the kingdom of God.

 

And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down).

Your life as a Christian can be compared to a race or an athletic competition. You may cross the finish line first, but you are not the winner unless you followed the rules. If you take a shortcut, cheat or disregard the rules, you are disqualified and you lose. The challenge of the game, and the enjoyment of it, is in following the rules that are laid down and conquering the game fairly. You feel good when you have done your best and you have played according to the rules. 

 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.  1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV

 

We are running a race, with our eye on the prize. We run to win – not to lose. The winner is not just trying to get there first, but he is prepared to run the whole race, to go all the way. We have an audience. We have a crowd of witnesses watching us. Some are there to cheer us on. Some are watching our example. We must know where we are going and we must discipline ourselves to run and not grow weary nor become distracted nor try to win by harming our fellow runners in any way. You don’t win because others are weak. You win because you are strong.

 

[It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits.

 

God does not ask you to labor in His garden without a reward. Luke 10:7 says that “the worker deserves his wages.” 1 Timothy 5:17-18 says, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

 

Whatever you do for the Lord, whatever the sacrifice, He will reward you. God does not ask us to do something for nothing. He always blesses us beyond our giving. Whatever we give up for God – He promises to multiply back to us – one hundred-fold. So if you work for God, give Him nothing less than your best. Whatever you give up for Him, don’t feel like you have been deprived, just know that you are in for a blessing!

 

We need to understand these things and grasp their application so that we can be successful in all we do.

 

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.  Ephesians 6:5-8 NIV

 

We honor God when we honor those we serve here on earth. Our motivation is very important to the Lord, because our attitude toward man reflects our true attitude toward God. You may say that you love God and you may claim to honor Him, but if you do not honor and obey His word then you do not honor Him. Work is good. God expects us to work. God can bless our work. He wants us to work well and to be sincere and respectful to our employers.

 

It is not acceptable to God that we try to con our boss by working only when he is watching us. Even when our boss turns his back—we should remember that God is watching us. We must realize that we have a responsibility to do the will of God by working and serving our boss wholeheartedly—as if we were serving the Lord, Himself. He says that we are serving Him by serving our boss. God will reward us for the good work we do from a sincere heart.

 

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.  1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NIV

 

Without a firm foundation, there is nothing to build upon. There is only one life foundation we can lay if we want to live a successful, productive and blessed life—and that is the foundation Jesus Christ. Until you have Jesus in your life—until you have acknowledged Him as your Lord and Savior—you have not yet begun to live! 

Upon this firm foundation, we build our lives. This foundation is established by our faith and then we proceed to build our house on this foundation by our faith, our motives and our works. It is no good for us to do only those things that suit us and ignore those which don’t. God’s word is not optional. We cannot pick and choose what we will do and not do, obey and not obey. It is a package deal. We must submit to God’s word in every area. We must commit to do His word without hesitation or argument.

 

Some people appear to do all the right things and yet their motivation is wrong. Some people are obedient in some areas, but disobedient in others. Some people are obedient, but not willing. All this is wood, hay and stubble. If we do the right thing, under every circumstance and for the right reason, we will be building with gold, jewels and precious stones.

 

If we are carnal Christians, we will be selfish and we will make choices that are not pleasing to God—wood, hay and stubble. The more we grow in God and learn to yield to the Lord in everything, the more we will do those things that please God—the gold, jewels and precious stones.

 

God does not judge our house—He just sets it on fire. If it burns—we lose it. If it passes through the fire—we get to keep it and take it into heaven with us. We are the ones who choose our building materials. We should choose wisely. We should commit to yield our heart, soul, body, mind, will, emotions, mouth and opinions completely to the Lord.