Today’s chapter is 1 Timothy 2

Tom writes:

I don’t know what to do with verses 11-15 which seem to speak into the role of women. Lesley (my wife) and I come back to them regularly to try to understand how to adopt them in our practice. The Greek is difficult and the culture Paul is writing about is very different from our own. But I’m not happy just to ignore the verses or write them off as obsolete. I know this book is Life and Truth for every one in every age. And so I keep coming back to these verses to think on them some more. However - at the same time as that - I mourn the fact that it is these few verses that get all the attention in this delicious chapter. The first few verses are so barn-stormingly brilliant that they could get a standing ovation several times over. I love the fact that God is called Our Saviour. I know it’s a phrase we’ve heard time and time again but isn’t it astonishing that His generous commitment towards us is the defining feature of our God? God holds time in his hands but he wants to hold us too. God’s aspect could be fixed on the beauty of the stars or the iridescence of His own being and yet, isn’t it just crazy, that he turns his regard to us?

God spends time thinking about and longing for all kinds of people from all kinds of places to come to Him for cleansing and healing and empowering in his love. God actively chooses to fix his attention on ‘them out there’, desiring that they will discover what their life is really about. And as people who love our God and who want to become like him there is a clear call to action - to lift up holy hands in prayer; to pray for everyone. Paul sees us coming to the throne-room of our God and gazing upon his splendour and seeing his compassion for the nations and being drawn into that compassion through prayers, intercessions and teaching the true faith. And so we pray for our work-colleagues and our neighbours and our bosses and our politicians and whoever else we come across. We lift them up to God in prayer, pleading for their eyes to be opened to His goodness and their ways to be conformed to his will. It is a magnificent call enabling us to resemble our magnificent God. O Jesus thank you for the privilege and the power of prayer.

Question for reflection

Who do you love to pray for?

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1 Timothy 2 - Thursday 14th March