Paul knew that his end was near, and he greatly missed some of his closest friends. In 2 Timothy, Paul named 26 individuals whom he personally knew.

There was a measure of sadness in Paul because some of his friends had fallen away. Demas, a co-worker, had backslided and deserted Paul because he “loved this world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Demas was no ordinary Christian worker; he was a valued member of Paul’s team.

Thankfully, Paul had many good associates and friends who would warm his heart and bring cheer to him. But they were not with him in this hour of need. Paul missed them greatly.

However Paul was not entirely alone. He had good old Doctor Luke with him. Luke’s presence must have brought great encouragement and cheer to Paul for the good doctor could also attend to Paul’s physical ailments and be Paul’s secretary to record what Paul dictated. He proved himself as a “tough friend for tough times.” Now Paul longed for the company of other close associates as time slipped by and he knew the end was near. He wanted to see the younger associates, if only to be encouraged by their commitment to the gospel and to be assured that the mission of God will continue on after his death.

Therefore Paul wanted Timothy to visit him in Rome. “Do your best to come to me quickly,” he urged Timothy (2 Timothy 4:9). Timothy was one of his key protégés, as we have already understood. Paul was not satisfied with sending a personal and poignant letter to Timothy, he also wanted to see him face to face if possible. Paul was also eager to see John Mark. “Get Mark and bring him with you” (v. 11). Paul had argued vehemently and sharply with Barnabas over including Mark in the team on the second missionary journey, because Mark had abandoned them in the first journey. Barnabas saw potential in Mark, being ever the encourager he was, and he wanted Mark to be given a second chance. Paul, on the other hand, was a man driven by his mission; he had no space for quitters on his team. Paul and Barnabas were so divided in their opinions about Mark that they went separate ways (Acts 15:36-41). Paul took Silas while Barnabas took Mark.

Subsequently a more mature Paul made up with a more mature Mark. Here, he described Mark as “helpful to me in my ministry” 2 Timothy 4:11). What a change in opinion! This was surely the result of God’s work of grace in both men. Mark “had rocketed from uselessness to usefulness!” He had become a key associate of Paul (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24) and Paul wanted very much to see him. Possibly, he not only wanted to be encouraged by this young man, he also wanted to ensure that he was totally reconciled with Mark before his death.

Paul was a man who loved God wholeheartedly. As a result, he also loved God’s people and the people of this broken world. In his many relationships, Paul developed a warm and hospitable attitude towards others. He had a wide network of friends, colleagues, and brothers and sisters in Christ. In this final epistle, he continued to mention names of people who were dear to him (2 Timothy 4:19-21). These were real people, with whom Paul developed lasting friendships, and whose presence he dearly missed as he ran the last lap of his race.

In sharing various needs as he faced death, Paul revealed a healthy holistic perspective of the Christian life. It is not limited to the spirit and its needs, but the life of the spirit is also lived out in a physical body and expressed through the mind and relationships with people. In all these areas, Paul was human like all of us, with various needs to be met legitimately by the grace of God, and which enabled him to live a life pleasing to God.

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
—2 Timothy 4:9-11

What are our social needs? How can these be met in legitimate and godly ways?

Make a list of people who have been or are important to you now. Is there anyone you have neglected lately? Pray for all of them.

Excerpt and adapted from Faithful to the End by Robert Solomon. © 2014 by Robert Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House. All rights reserved.

In 2 Timothy 4:13, besides the cloak, Paul also requested Timothy to bring along his scrolls and parchments. The scrolls were probably Old Testament Hebrew texts while the parchments were probably other books or writing material.

It is fascinating that as he faced impending death, Paul still wanted his scrolls and parchments so that he could continue to read, meditate and write. Paul remained a Bible reader and scholar till the end. His mind was always active and curious. He must have read widely and deeply. The Lord blessed him with a good mind and used him to write Scripture and to establish His truth and doctrines, and to refute heresies and false teachers.

In this request, we note Paul’s intellectual needs. What was true for Paul is also true for all of us. Some people have the wrong notion that faith is only a matter of sentiment, and one need only to have an emotional relationship with Jesus. This cannot be further from the truth for we are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27).

Paul knew the importance of the mind and saw that a proper use of the mind is necessary in worship. Thus Paul wrote: “I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind” (1 Corinthians 14:15).

The mind, like the body, can also run wild. It must be properly disciplined and trained. Spiritual transformation includes the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2), which results in the removal of the devil’s tight blindfold over people’s minds (2 Corinthians 4:4) so that new godly attitudes can be adopted (Ephesians 4:23). Paul also pointed to the need to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5) because the mind, independent of God, is capable of all kinds of sinful thoughts and attitudes.

One way in which the mind is shaped, transformed, and tutored is through the careful and regular reading of God’s Word and the application of it in daily life. The mind is also stretched by reading good Christian literature that explains biblical truths and principles and illustrates the Christian life that God is pleased with. John Wesley, again, is a good example here.

Though many of Wesley’s early travelling preachers were simple laymen such as tailors, farmers, and cobblers, he developed a reading programme for them, compiling excerpts from 120 book into A Christian Library of 50 volumes that he considered to be important for the training and reflection of his preachers. Those were not easy material even for well-educated people, but Wesley expected the good use of the mind and the place of sanctified reason in Christian discipleship and ministry.

Paul set the tone for all of us by reminding us how important his scrolls and parchments were, even during the waiting period for his martyrdom.

Christians are today not reading as much as their forebears, and even if they are reading, the reading material could be better. There are so many treasures from Christian history that remain unknown to modern Christians. It is important that Christians exercise their minds to read these books to that they can grow deeper in their faith and devotion to Christ. Such reading has three effects: educational, therapeutic, and transformative. They inform and shape our thinking; they heal us of our blindness and mindless ways; and they bring about transformation in our lives that are based on the strong foundations of sound godly beliefs, principles, and values.

The Bible, of course, is the most important book we must read and internalise. Reading it with the heart, soul and mind would benefit us greatly. In fact, without it, we would be lost in the cacophony of our modern world, where false ideologies are being shouted out and sold.

May Paul’s example inspire and move us to follow Chirst with our sanctified minds too.

Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
—Matthew 22:37

What are some books you could begin reading today?

Besides reading, what are other ways we could cultivate our minds?

Excerpt and adapted from Faithful to the End by Robert Solomon. © 2014 by Robert Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House. All rights reserved.

The aged apostle Paul, in his sixties, sat alone in his dark and damp prison cell in Rome. Having travelled so much and met so many people, his thoughts probably raced back and forth as he traced his life—his early days of childhood and youth, his impeccable training as a Bible scholar, his wrongly directed passion against the people of the Way, his life-changing encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, his experience of deep understanding as he read the Scriptures in the light of Christ, his years of missionary service bringing the gospel to many corners of the earth, his joy of seeing people converted and churches planted, his sufferings and travails of beatings, imprisonments and false accusations, his battles with false teachers who were infiltrating the churches, his proteges such as Timothy and Titus, his fellow-workers such as Luke, Silas, Barnabas, Mark, Priscilla and Aquilla, and so on.

Paul knew that the end was near. His time on earth was drawing to a close. Paul did not deny his impending death as some are wont to do; he knew that his earthly ministry was being concluded and that it was time to go to his Lord in heaven.

It was while thinking about his impending martyrdom that Paul made three wonderful declarations—statements that deeply inspire (2 Timothy 4:7).

I have Fought the Good Fight

Paul often used the metaphor of battle and struggle to depict the Christian life. This fight is against the three enemies of the soul—the flesh, the devil, and the world. At the heart of this battle is an unseen spiritual warfare. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

Paul also knew from experience that this war was not fought according to the diabolical terms of the devil or the shrewd tactics of the world. The world’s methods of warfare include weaponry, physical might and earthly power. However, Jesus refused to be an earthly Messiah. He fought the battle through the cross of self-sacrificial love challenged the sinful ways of the world.

As his Lord, so was Paul. He was convinced that the real spiritual battle is fought not with the powerful weapons of the world, but with the self-giving love of God; not by taking up the sword but by taking up the cross; not with might but with truth; not with worldly power but with divine love; not with a loud mouth but with a gentle spirit; not with worldly shrewdness but with godly simplicity. The next time we are tempted to employ the world’s methods of warfare, we would do well to remember this.

I have Finished the Race

In stating that he had finished his race, Paul moved to his second metaphor—a disciplined athlete who runs to win according to the rules. He shared with the Ephesian elders in his farewell speech to them, that his top priority in life was to “finish the race and complete the task” that the Lord Jesus had given him (Acts 20:24). Paul, therefore, shook off anything that hindered his race and ran consistently—without giving up hope, even in the most difficult of circumstances (Hebrews 12:1).

Paul felt the joy of faithfulness and “long obedience” to Christ. He had refused to compromise his message, motives, or methods, neither to cut corners nor take shortcuts in the race. He ensured that the gospel that he preached neither sprang from error nor was adjusted to accommodate strong opposition or popular expectations. Paul did not carry out his ministry out of impure motives—for wealth and applause. And he did not change his methods to suit base desires and motives; he did not use flattery or trickery. Paul operated according to God-given principles that ensured that he completed the race faithfully and successfully. God had given him stamina through all the challenges along the way and he was about to gloriously finish his race.

I have Kept the Faith

Paul’s third metaphor can also be applied to his third statement—a diligent and hardworking farmer will see a rich harvest. God had sown the seed of the gospel in his life; it was the faith that he had carefully guarded. And Paul had in turn sown the same seed in the lives of others, making disciples of Christ and planting churches. He had diligently sown the seed, and he knew that there would be a rich harvest in the days ahead. Like a hardworking farmer, he had diligently done his work and kept the trust of his Master. He had guarded the faith and passed it on.

Paul felt the elation of a runner who had not dropped the baton in a relay race and who had now passed it successfully to the next runner. He was delighted to have kept the faith as he had received it from the Lord and His other servants. Not only did Paul retain his personal faith in Jesus amid all kinds of challenges and disappointments, he had also kept the faith—as the body of truth we call the gospel. He had faithfully held on to the gospel faith that is connected with the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Future: A Crown of Righteousness

Having reviewed his past, Paul then looked forward to his future. Yes, he had a future, for death would not be the end for him; rather, it would mark the beginning of a brand new future for him—a future in eternity in the glorious presence of Christ.

The Lord will give him a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8). Here Paul referred to this victor’s crown—the crown that was essentially a trophy, a recognition that one had completed according to the rules and had won. This crown will not sit well on the head of a sinful or proud person; rather, it will be a sign of great humility and gratitude. Those who wear it will know that they are unworthy of these crowns, but that they had received it by the grace and mercy of God. This crown of righteousness is not something to be worn as an achievement or award, but as a reminder of the greatness of the Lord who has made it possible for redeemed sinners to wear such glorious crowns.

The crown is not just for the elite in the kingdom of God; it is for anyone who would place his or her trust in Christ and live out that trust in faithful obedience as they wait for the return of the Lord.

May we, like Paul, fight the good fight, finish the race and remain faithful to the end.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
—2 Timothy 4:6-8

Reflect on Paul’s three wonderful declarations (2 Timothy 4:7). How did he fight in the spiritual battle? How did he run? How did he keep the faith? Write down lessons for yourself and assess how your spiritual life is going in the light of your reflections.

Imagine receiving and wearing your crown of righteousness. What do you think the Lord would say, and how would you respond?

Excerpt and adapted from Faithful to the End by Robert Solomon. © 2014 by Robert Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House. All rights reserved.