My earlier foray into ministry included volunteering to be “a listener” for AWANA. Each week the church basement would become a hive of kids eager to be with friends, listen to stories, play games and demonstrate their achievement during the course of the previous week in memorizing as many verses as possible so that they could show off the jewels in their crowns and badges on their club uniform. My job entailed meeting with individual children and listening while they presented their memorized verses. It presented a not-so-surprising benefit for me. As I listened to the same verses over and over again, I began to memorize them as well. One of the first verses that the kids would learn was the AWANA theme verse: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15.” This week I’ve been thinking about the last phrase of that verse, “who correctly handles the word of truth.” What does it mean to correctly handle the word of truth?
Is it talking about using appropriate bible study tools to properly interpret the Bible? Is it talking about how I treat my physical Bible? Or is it talking about how I use the words of scripture? Is it talking about using the words of scripture to build up rather than tear down? Is it about sharing the words of truth with others rather than keeping them to myself? Is it about putting the words of truth into practice? Is it about cherishing the word of God and recognizing it for what it is – a blessing and a gift directly from the mouth of God? What does it mean to correctly handle the word of truth?
The context in 2 Timothy can help us understand what Paul had in mind when he wrote these words to Timothy. In this particular letter Paul is writing some final instructions for Timothy while hoping that Timothy will be able to visit him in prison before he faces trial. Timothy, in Ephesus, has been dealing with quarrels in the church and false teachers who are stirring the pot. It is in this context that Paul instructs Timothy to “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” He reminds Timothy that he is responsible first and foremost to God and not to the false teachers stirring up trouble in the church. He has a responsibility to be faithful to what God has taught him and called him to do which included the preaching of the gospel. Paul is calling Timothy to stick to what he knows to be true – the gospel and all that flows from that.
In the same letter Paul reminds Timothy that since childhood he had been taught the scriptures (2 Tim. 3:14-15) and he calls Timothy to proclaim the message and persist in it no matter what others may be saying or doing (2 Tim. 4:2). Why? Why should he persist? Why should he correctly handle the word of truth? The answer is another famous memory verse – 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Scripture is breathed out by God. It is not the product of the imaginings of some old coots in 3rd century AD. It is not the ancient writings of an extinct people. It is the word of God, an act of communication between the God of all creation and his creation. Therefore, it needs to be handled correctly. It needs to be used for the purposes for which it was intended – for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting and for training in righteousness. So that, in the end, we may be made whole and able to fulfill our purpose in God’s world.
So, the question I have to ask myself today is, “How am I handling the word of truth?” Have I let it teach me today? Am I listening to its correction? Am I submitting to it as my righteousness trainer? Do I cherish it as the God-breathed words of truth that they are?