Focus!

I love the focus of Paul. He stayed focused on his mission through shipwrecks, beatings, arguments, jail time... you name it. And he wrote Timothy to do the same thing. He gave him 3 illustrations... that still speak to us so many years later. Look at this...

"Soldiers don't' get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them." II Timothy 2:4 (NLT)
"Athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules." vs. 5
"Hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor." vs. 6
Soldiers, athletes, and farmers stay focused.

They don't...
Sacrifice what's best for what's good.
Look to the stands for rule interpretations.
Slack off in the planting to mess up the harvest.

As Christ followers it's easy to get distracted and in the same way...
We get side tracked by the world's desires and forget why we said yes to Jesus in the first place.
We start looking at the spectators and forget the game plan.
We get comfortable and lazy in the present life and wonder why there's no harvest or growth...
I say it to you the way Paul said it to Timothy... "Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things." vs 7.

Focus.....