Remember! – a sermon on 2 Timothy 2:8-13 by Rev. Colin Pretorius.

There’s a condition that afflicts a large number of people. It’s a condition that affects young people, especially teenagers. It causes them to lose their memory. I mean, how often as a mom or a dad have you had to ask your children to do something and they “forget” to do it? And in a different way it also affects us slightly older ones – and I’m not going to give examples here that may get me into trouble! But friends, this condition of “forgetfulness” can also become a chronic condition of the heart. When we don’t consistently spend time with God and His Word, we tend to forget Him and what He has done for us.

In the book “The Silver Chair” CS Lewis represents Jesus as the talking lion Aslan. In one scene Aslan teaches Jill to repeat to him the directions he’s given her so that she wouldn’t forget them. He tells her “Child, [] perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember. Repeat to me, in order, the four signs.” But as so often happens, Jill soon forgets, and her journey is derailed.

In a similar way Paul reminds Timothy of a few things he has to remember to keep his Christian journey on track. He doesn’t give him four signs, but he does tell him three things to remember. Three things that will help him stand firm and live and walk and endure in the light of God’s Gospel of Good News. Before we look at what it is that Paul wants his young protégé to remember, let us remember that they surely apply to us and to keeping our faith journey on track too.

These then are the three things Paul urges Timothy to remember:

• Firstly, remember the Gospel of Jesus Christ (v8a);
• Secondly, remember God’s unbound Word (v8b-10); and
• Thirdly, remember God’s nature (v11-13).

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