Q3. Enduring Hardship

[DrD]

Q3. (2 Timothy 2:3-7) Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrate this well? Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?

It

[Old Jerry]

Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal and the experience of soldiers, athletes, and farmers illustrates this well because they have to work hard in order to stay alive or to win the goal that they working for.

The example that speaks most strongly to me is the experience of a soldier. They have to think quick and act quick in order to stay alive.

[Eagleswings01]

Q3. (2 Timothy 2:3-7) Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrate this well? Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?

Soldiers must give up the comfort of their lives.

An athlete must be well trained and disciplined.

A farmer must work hard in planting and nurturing in order to get a harvest.

The example which strongly speaks to me is that of a soldier.A soldier must be prepared at all times to fight a battle and must be disciplined enough to listen to the commanding officer.

[Gerbrand van Schalkwyk]

Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrate this well?

All have to exersize dissipline for future gain. You have to practice / work hard now for what willcome much later. You must have faith that your hard work will pay off. You also know that dissapointment might also come, even when you have done everything right.

You might think you have won a new christian, only to be disapointed when they fall away. Just know, as long as you are obedient, God will work with and through you.\

Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?

I fought Judo up to national level, so maybe the athlete, on the other hand, i spent a very long time on our family farm, so many other lessons were learned there as well.

[Craig]

Q3. (2 Timothy 2:3-7) Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrate this well? Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?         

 

The soldier, athlete, and farmer all endure hardship for the sake of their goals. 

 

The soldier must be patient, determined, and endure suffering as part of the life of a soldier in all the varying circumstances soldiering can entail. From peace time to the battle front and in between there is constant training for victory in battle.  It is not always pleasant.

 

The athlete must be disciplined in diet, exercise, and training (which often entails pain and suffering), in order to compete and be the victor or champion.

 

The farmer works hard to prepare the land, plant the seed, and maintain the gardens or fields while the corps' are growing. The farmer must patiently endure while the fruit develops and go without, possibly, until harvest time.  This includes varying degrees of suffering.  The goal is the harvest.

 

 I think all three speak to my walk with Christ.  In my spiritual development and ministry assignments patient endurance of some kind of suffering in dealing with people has been required.  The goal is to glorify and honor God and to share the love of God with others.  To preach and teach the gospel to others.  This requires patience like the farmer and discipline like the soldier and athlete in order to reliably carry out the mission  -- the Great Commission whether I feel like it or not.

 

 

 

[wifee]

3a)They all have to persevere in training,enduring pain,  hard sacrifice of commiting long often antisocial hours of regular discipline of exercise/diet pattern of whole life every day.
b)Sport example speaks most to me,the endurance enables one to achieve results &be the best we can.Eating right food,having right sleep exercise&training pattern to achieve chosen goals.In Christian service we must practice self-discipline (1Cor 9:27); we must not fight with human carnal weapons, but with spiritual ones (2Cor 10:4); we must keep ourselves pure; and we must not strive, but be patient. Unfortunately many of us fall out before we reach the finish line, disqualified because as sinners we did not maintain an unquestioning obedience to the word of God!a man's whole life should be one strenuous endeavour to live out his Christianity in every moment and in every sphere of our lives.Christ is the victor, we achieve through his power in us."Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10).Relying on the grace of God to give you strength for the situation."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2:1).

[Jonathan Edwards]

We cooperate with God's gifts and graces.  We are not in a state of quietism; we just don't coast along in the Christian walk.  Apostle Paul all knew so well that he had to endure tough times; it wasn't an life.   He was not a day dreamer.   Paul knew that that each day he had to make the effort to preach the Gospel, and also take care of mundane matters as well.  Like a good soldeir, he had to endure tough times and all that entails.   There were days and nights that were not all joyous and devoid of problems in particular with heterodox believers.   Paul knew reality, he experienced good and bad days;. joyfully times and sorrowfull times.  Just like a faithful soldier at his lonely outpost, he maintained his alligience, and faithfully carried out his duties.

The analogy of the soldier appeals to me.  I know from experience what it is to sacrifice, and carry out my duties as a former fraud analyst.   Many years on nite shift, including fulfilling my evangelistic responsibilities.

[Krissi]

Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrate this well? Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?         

I've never been a farmer, but intuitively understand the long time gap between planting and harvesting. The farmer makes a sacrifice without visible results. Specifically, after planting, the seed remains under the ground, seemingly doing nothing, as the farmer anxiously walks his field, looking for signs of change and life, seeing none. 

After plowing and plowing and fertilizing and whatever else a farmer does, it must be incredibly gratifying to see the first shoots emerge. Those first shoots portend a harvest, but do not guarantee a full harvest. Those shoots are only the potential of a harvest. Until that harvest is safely in, it can be destroyed. 

The goal is to get that harvest safely in. The hardship is the preparation time, the anxiety of waiting and the quick and laborious gathering in of the harvest. And then, relief.

 

[Nicolaas A.P. Mostert]

Q3. (2 Timothy 2:3-7)

Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrates this well?

All three must be discipline and be vigilant till the end results appears. 

               Soldier: War requires willingness to endure extreme hardships of marching and camping in difficult terrain in all kinds of weather, and engaging the                        enemy in hand-to-hand, life-or-death combat. What's more, the commanding officer must be obeyed above all things. Soldiers don't enlist to                                  experience a soft, self-indulgent lifestyle.

               Athlete: Train hard so that they might compete well and win the prize. Athletes who avoid the never-ending discipline, the discomfort and pain of long                 training runs, hours of weight training, and never-ending practice never amount to anything. 

               Farmer: The farmer gets to share in the crop he has labored to plant, nurture, and harvest. Endurance, suffering, and waiting for the crop to come in                      are all part of the process. It is not an easy life.

Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?

In the case of a soldier.

[Diane D.]

On 2/2/2009 at 1:06 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q3. (2 Timothy 2:3-7) Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrate this well? Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?

A soldier assigned up to be a part of the corps and cannot take part in civilian life (social and emotional hardship) and trains himself on obeying orders and physical hardship. An athlete does much the same, without diversion into demanding less from his schedule and his training.  Farmers do the same.  They toil long hours and sometimes for little return.

An athlete resounds most to me.  It is not exclusive of society but they can still be training as an athlete.  I like the focus mentioned here as well.

[Clelie]

A soldier has to leave snything  that may  gets  in his way  to become a conquering soldier.

An athlete trains for hours to win the prize of the competition he is going after 

A farmer labours in his field watching the seeds grow and taking all care to see the crops thrive. Watering , fertilizing, weeding  making sure he has done all the steps to see his crop yielding , so he might enjoy a share ofthe hard work he puts in.

Planting and growing is hard work that brings a deep satisfaction to the heart for the hard work put in . 

 

 

[Niyonka16]

Q3. (2 Timothy 2:3-7) Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrates this well?

ANSWER: Those three very expressive metaphors which Paul uses add up to saying one thing: In a world that is falling apart, Christians must commit themselves without reserve to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. The context for all of this is ''suffering,'' meaning the hardships endured for the sake of Christ. Those who endure do so by the power of God, not their own efforts.

1. To be a fruitful Christian, willingly embrace the hardship of the good soldier: Unentangled commitment (2:3-4).

1. TO BE A GOOD SOLDIER OF CHRIST JESUS, RECOGNIZE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN CONSCRIPTED INTO CHRIST’S ARMY TO FIGHT THE EVIL FORCES OF DARKNESS.
2. TO BE A GOOD SOLDIER OF CHRIST JESUS, WILLINGLY EMBRACE THE HARDSHIP OF UNENTANGLED COMMITMENT.
3. TO BE A GOOD SOLDIER OF CHRIST JESUS, LIVE DAILY TO PLEASE THE LORD WHO ENLISTED YOU.
4. TO BE A GOOD SOLDIER OF CHRIST JESUS, REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE ENDURING HARDSHIP TOGETHER WITH ALL OF HIS SOLDIERS.

2. To be a fruitful Christian, willingly embrace the hardship of the athlete: Discipline within limits (2:5).

Observe three things:

A. YOU DO NOT BECOME GODLY BY ACCIDENT.

B. YOU MUST COMPETE ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF GOD’S WORD.

C. YOUR AIM IN COMPETING IS TO WIN THE PRIZE.

3. To be a fruitful Christian, willingly embrace the hardship of the farmer: Hard, unexciting work with no immediate payback (2:6).

Note three things:

A. MUCH CHRISTIAN WORK IS UNEXCITING.

B. CHRISTIAN WORK IS TIRING.

C. THE REWARD COMES AT THE END OF THE AGE, NOT AT THE END OF THE MEETING.

Maybe we could add this as a fourth illustration, the hardship of the Christian scholar. To gain insight from God’s Word, you must apply yourself by carefully observing and thinking about what the text says. All the while that you’re laboring, you must ask God to give you understanding.

Let’s look to the rewards in eternity. Jesus Christ will smile and say, “well done, good and faithful servant.” That will make all the toil and hardship worth it! He will reward us eternally for our labors. We will enjoy the harvest of righteousness in the presence of the Lord and all His saints. But we must now set aside all distractions and the sin that so easily entangles us. Seek first His kingdom and righteousness as a good soldier, a disciplined athlete, and a hardworking farmer, even though it is difficult!

[Eldress Rowe]

Just as a soldier, athlete and a farmer endure hardship for the sake of their goal as soldiers of Christ we must do likewise.  We should not expect ease and rest but difficulties, toil, and labor. We should not be involved or implicated in worldly affairs and cares but should wholly give ourselves up to the work and service to which we are called.  We should be ready to part with all worldly enjoyment and cheerfully suffer the lost of all thing for the sake of Christ and His Gospel.  No man who calls himself a Christian can expect the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus except he run the race set before him in the right way, and work pressing through all difficulties toward the prize and hold on and hold out until the end.

I guess the farmer speaks more strongly to me having grown up on a farm and watched as my dad prepared the field, planted the crops, watered, nurture them in anticipation of a harvest. Though it might have only been a small seed when he planted, he believed that those small seeds would produced a great harvest if properly nourished and taken care of.   He didn't seem to mind the wait or the toil and labor that went into it for he was expecting to reap a harvest

[Katy]

Q3. The soldier, athlete and farmer are illustrations of people who have to work hard in life to achieve what they set out to achieve. Likewise we as Christians must do the same thing, our aim in life is to obey and serve our Lord and Saviour. Like the soldier, athlete and farmer we have to endure hardship and suffering. We must be disciplined, up early to spend time in God’s presence before the business of the day begins, be prepared to tell others about our Saviour, despite their lack of interest or indifference to God. We must be prepared to show God’s love to everyone no matter what is going on in our own lives. The soldier, athlete or farmer will not reach their goals if they are half hearted and disobey or fail to train or carry out their duties and so it is with Christians . We will not be honouring to God if we neglect what He has called us to do.

The athlete would be the one I can identify with because my children and grandchildren have been and some still are involved in various sports at school/ college and I know the discipline and the suffering even at this level. 

[haar]

Q3. (2 Timothy 2:3-7) Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrates this well? Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you?

A3.

To be a successful soldier, athlete and farmer require discipline and endurance. Thus Paul admonished Timothy to be disciplined and endure and to follow his own example and that of Christ.

[Jonathan Edwards]

Soldier:  Utmost dedication to his country, and ready to suffer.  No time for frivolous interests. Timothy was beckoned to suffer with Apostle Paul the suffering messenger of the Gospel.  We excercise unshakeable faith in His ability and not in our own strength and ability.   No time for self pity.  Paul was inviting and commanding Timothy to walk where he had walked in the path of suffering.

Athlete:  self control, and taking care of his body are very important to reach athletic goals.  We have to follow Bible rules in order to get our crowns for dedicated stewardship and dedicated Christian living.

Farmer: Quietly he works the land breaking up the soil, sowing seed, fertilizing the crops and patiently waiting for reaping time.This requires discipline and patience.

The soldier and the farmer analogies.  I can testify that the above analogies can describe my life and ministry.  Years of discipline, mortification, and being faithful to God without no accolades.  Being bi-vocational hasn't been easy.   Thank God for preserving graces throughout the years.!

[Old Jerry]

To me the experience of a soldier illustrates this well. You have got to obey the orders in order to accomplish the task at hand. If you don’t you could end up dead. The same is true in life, we need to obey what God is telling us or we could end up as good as dead in hell.

[hanks]

Q3. (2 TIMOTHY 2:3-7) 
Paul calls Timothy to endure hardship for the sake of the goal. What in the experience of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer illustrates this well? Which of these examples speaks most strongly to you? 
Paul gives three illustrations of Christian service and urges us to consider them as we meditate on them. We will then realize that the Christian ministry resembles warfare, athletics, and farming, that each of these has its own responsibilities, and that each brings its own reward. In all three we must be disciplined and prepared to suffer hardships. The believer as a soldier has been enlisted by the Lord, and our love for Him should find us in the front line; continually in touch with Jesus as we receive our orders from Him. We then have the athlete; here in order to receive the reward, we must train hard and obey the rules of Christian service. These include: we must practice self-discipline – living the life we preach (1 Cor 9:27); in our battle against spiritual powers, we do not use carnal weapons, but spiritual ones, the Word of God and prayer (2 Cor 10:4); we must keep ourselves pure; and we must be patient. Unfortunately, many of us fall out before we reach the finish line, disqualified because we did not maintain an unquestioning obedience to the word of God! Finally, we have the farmer. This involves endurance and hard work the whole year. Only if our work has been done well and unceasingly, will we see the results of our labour. Then we will see that our efforts are being rewarded and we will be the first to enjoy the fruit. This would serve as an encouragement to us, should we ever become discouraged in our labour for the Lord, knowing that such toil will not go unrewarded. Sometimes we get to see some of the results of our service here on earth. But the true enjoyment of all fruits of our service will only be known when we are with the Lord. I can see a bit of all three in myself; but I think I can associate myself more with the hard-working farmer. Someone has said: “A part-time Christian is a contradiction in terms; a man's whole life should be one strenuous endeavour to live out his Christianity in every moment and in every sphere of his life.”