De Corde Puro | A Pure Heart

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” – 2 Timothy 2: 22

My dear brothers and sisters, Timothy faced difficult problems in his ministry.  He was confronted by heretical teachers who liked to dispute, confuse, talk nonsense, and live a life of wickedness.  Paul admonished Timothy to try to be a worthy worker of Christ so that the false teachers would not find a way to overthrow Timothy and defame the name of God.

To become a worthy worker of Christ, Paul advised Timothy these two ways namely: First, to be wise in his words.  That is, not to be ashamed to preach the truth, not to argue about unworthy things, and to serve with gentleness.  Second, he should maintain purity by abstaining from lust, and pursuing justice, loyalty, love, and peace.  

We can note that amid the complex problems posed by the heretical teachers at Ephesus, Timothy was encouraged to deal with them wisely and not violently.  Although some had deviated from the truth, Paul advised Timothy to deal with it with tenderness.  Thus, maybe God allowed them to repent and know the truth.  Such people can easily get lost as a result of Satan's snare that enmeshes them.

Brothers and sisters, let Timothy's way of life and example be our role model.  Since often as followers of Christ or as spiritual leaders, we are impatient in guiding someone who has strayed from the truth and easily exclude him or her from the community of God's people.  

Before we confront people who have gone astray, let us first learn to be wise in speech and keep our lives pure so that other people or the devil cannot overthrow us and shame Christ.  With gentleness, we will be enabled by God with His grace to guide and direct the lost person to the right path. Amen, –

Reflection on 2 Timothy 2: 14 – 26 by Father Risco Batbual, SVD

(Listen to the Podcast here)

Venite ad me (Mt. 11:28)

Christ is our example. God doesn’t give us an “out” in times of weariness and exhaustion. When He was cursed, He blessed. When needy crowds pressed in relentlessly, He made Himself available. When they were hungry, He fed them. When they needed correction, He lovingly but boldly gave it to them. When they hurt Him, He forgave them. When He needed sleep, He pressed on. When He suffered, He kept the eternal picture in mind. He kept you and me in mind.

Our burdens may feel anything but light today. God is not trying to make light of our circumstances. He wants us to see our circumstances through His light. We are not helpless or forgotten in our times of need. Jesus knows the number of hairs on your head. Why would He take such care to count them if they were not precious to Him? Don’t allow an hour to go by before taking your cares to Jesus. Because the Bible is our Daily Bread, we become malnourished spiritually if we neglect it. Spending time with the Lord refreshes our spirits and strengthens us to face both our trials and our triggers.

If we feel triggered by the weariness and exhaustion of our circumstances, we won’t be able to combat our anger and frustration until we lay our burden down at the feet of Jesus. Jesus asks us to learn from Him. To take note of how gentle and humble He is. In the same way that our angry reactions typically spark even bigger angry reactions in our friends, neighbors, spouses, parents, or maybe boss. Jesus’ gentle and humble spirit rubs off on us, producing a supernatural steadiness of heart and mind.

As we give our weariness to the Lord, His gentleness becomes our gentleness. His humility is reflected in our own. As we grow in character, exhaustion gives way to strength upon strength, equipping us with the ability to overcome the temptation to lash out in frustration.

The followers of Christ never have to operate on empty or be quick to anger. We are promised the fruit of supernatural strength and given an example in the person of Jesus Christ.

The heart filled with godly character has very little room for angry reactions. Let’s accept the invitation to “come” to the Lord and find rest for our souls by demonstrating gentleness and humility in our daily life.

By Martha, Brisbane.