“We all just have to believe what we’re comfortable with,” was my cheerful, sweet-natured colleague’s conclusion to our lunchtime discussion. I was working in a hotel at the time, surrounded by people with this type of worldview. Whenever I talked about Jesus, it would emerge like a brick wall.
The Apostle Paul once warned his friend Timothy that people “will gather round them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth” (2 Timothy 4:3–4). My colleague’s ears only itched for things that didn’t make her—or anyone else—feel uncomfortable.
But one day every ear will have to hear and acknowledge the truth: Jesus “will judge the living and the dead” (v. 1). He is King and Judge; He alone defines good and evil.
It’s not always comfortable to live for Jesus in a pleasure-driven society. Like Paul, we may “endure hardship” (v. 5) when we encourage others to submit to Him. Yet even though he was about to be executed for his faith, Paul could enthuse: “there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (v. 8).
Christ is the Judge, but He has a Saviour’s heart. He has provided a way of salvation for all who will come to Him. That’s the message every ear needs to hear.
By Debbi Fralick
REFLECT & PRAY
Have you encountered or struggled with your own ‘itchy ears’? How does the Word of God, including the uncomfortable bits, soothe your soul?
Jesus, I thank You that You are the Judge and King over all the earth. And I praise You for Your Saviour’s heart which means I’m rescued and promised my own crown of righteousness in heaven.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Paul writes this, his last letter, knowing he’s about to die. So when he says, “I give you this charge: Preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:1–2), his exhortation carries even much more impact for Timothy. Bible scholar William Hendriksen tells us that the word for preach literally means “to proclaim before the public.” That is what Paul wants Timothy to do. Significantly, Paul has a specific warning for him, signalled by the words “the time will come” (v. 3). And what will happen at that “time”? “[People] will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” ( v. 3). In chapter 3, Paul had instructed Timothy to hold to the truth of the Scriptures. Now, he urges him to preach those truths regardless of their unpopularity. His directive to Timothy has not lost its relevance for us today.
Tim Gustafson
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