What's Next?

I vividly recall the day God showed me a truth I had read many times before in the Bible but skimmed over because I didn’t understand it. But that day, His light shone on it, and I understood. That morning, God opened an opportunity for me to share with someone who also needed to hear the same message.

“Study to show thyself approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Imprisoned in Rome, Paul writes in his second epistle to Timothy, in chapter four, that he is at death’s threshold. Luke, the beloved physician and often his traveling companion, was with him, yet he wrote to Timothy, asking that he come soon and bring John Mark with him, the cloak he left, the books, and especially the parchments. Paul doesn’t say the reason for wanting to see John Mark other than his helpfulness to him. Nor does Paul say why he wanted the writings or whether they were his. But Paul, the well-educated in God’s Word, shows us that it is vital to keep reading and studying. No matter how often you’ve read the Bible through its entirety or how many verses you can quote, we never know enough.

Paul was ready to die. He had faithfully fulfilled his office and encouraged Timothy to stay steadfast as God’s proclaimer of Truth. Death awaits us, but until then, like Paul, keep learning. Equip yourself with God’s Word that is alive and speaks new messages from familiar words if we listen to God’s voice. What’s next? Encourage others and share God’s truths that He teaches you until He calls you home.