Timewise, 2 Timothy is Paul’s last letter in Scripture. In it he exhorts his “beloved child” (2 Tim. 1:2): “rekindle the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (v. 6). Like him, may we use the gifts God has given us for His glory and the blessing of others.

Paul mentions twenty-seven people by name in the letter’s short span, and he often uses the second-person singular pronoun: “thou.” Both features show how intensely personal it is. Each one of us is responsible to be faithful to God in our lives (2:3–13) but also to go on with those who separate from what dishonors Him in the “great house” of Christian profession (2:14–26).

Timothy’s devotion was not in doubt on either score. His tears were tokens of this, and Paul treasured them and prayed for him. He was a man of God (1 Tim. 6:11), but he was discouraged by the declension of his day. Paul does not minimize this in any way; in fact he says it will get worse. We recognize in our time his chilling depiction of the “last days” (3:1–9).

So what was Timothy to do? And what are we to do? “Abide in those things which thou hast learned, and of which thou hast been fully persuaded” (3:14). As we “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart” (2:22), we weep at the way things have gone but count on God and His Word. In prison with Luke at the close of his course (4:7, 11), Paul is down to the bare minimum for fellowship. But he writes, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep for that day the deposit I have entrusted to Him” (1:12). His eye is on Christ as he spurs on Timothy and us.