“Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.” (2 Timothy 2:7 NLT)
You may have noticed, but I am a thinker by nature. When I was a very little girl, my father took me to the Detroit Art Institute where a casting of Rhodin’s famous Thinker sits in perpetual quandary. Somehow this image has stayed with me all these years; I am forever bent over in thought, at least internally. I rediscovered the statue in the Musee’ Rhodin in Paris in my twenties and felt like I’d met a long lost friend on the other side of the world.
On the Strengthfinders survey, connectedness is my strongest theme. Connectedness is the belief that everything happens for a reason and a unique ability to connect the dots between what is happening here and now with deep personal responsibility. It’s a strange and strong mix of faith and duty. I didn’t need a personality test to find this out about myself. I’ve been keenly aware of my ‘connectedness’ since my freshmen year of college. It sets me apart from people but draws me to them at the very same time.
So what does all this connectedness mean? For me, it means I never can turn off my brain. It is always chugging away. Not necessarily looking for answers but searching and believing for purpose. I find today’s text to be especially poignant for people like me. Paul had been encouraging Timothy: fight the good fight. Stay in the race and follow the rules. See the season all the way through to harvest. He both bolstered the here and now and hinted strongly at heaven. Then he said: Think about it. The Lord will help you understand.
I can’t imagine being a thinker without also being a believer. That would be my definition of mental torture. To operate in connectedness apart from the hope of heaven would be a burden, not a blessing. But because I am a believer, my gift helps me continually connect the details of today with the bigger picture of forever.
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share His glory.”
(Colossians 3:1-4 NLT)
Lord, we are glad for the instruction to thing on these things. Holy Spirit, guide our thoughts as we connect the dots between this life and the next Help us to value Kingdom purpose over earthly appetites and acquisitions. Keep us on Kingdom tasks. Amen.