By Cindy Phillips
I am acutely aware of the “seasons” at the moment. We’re coming out of spring and into summer. The garden is planted and I am trusting God for the increase. That got me to thinking there are earthly seasons and there are Spiritual seasons.
2 Tim 4:1-2 (NASB) I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
The letter of 2 Timothy is the last written letter we have from the Apostle Paul. He was writing to Timothy, a young man he personally mentored and considered his “son in the faith”. The last words of a person tend to be the things they think most important. The whole letter is filled with great truths, but I want to touch on the “season” part.
When Ed and I travel, we tend to book trips on the “off-season”. That means the times when it is not peak tourist season. From the above Scripture, is there an off-season to preach the Word? No! The phrase translated “in season” is from the Greek meaning when the opportunity occurs. The word translated preach means to publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done. And even though Timothy was a preacher, I believe this Scripture can be applied to evangelism as well. When you tell someone about Jesus, you are preaching, or openly proclaiming what Jesus has done for mankind. When should openly proclaim this truth? When the opportunity presents itself.
I want to encourage you to make the most of every opportunity to share God’s truths. It is easy to “clock in” and “clock out” of our faith, erroneously believing that we represent God at Church but not throughout the week. This was not an option for Timothy, and it is not an option for us. If you are a Christian, you are a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Whether we are speaking to a crowd or chatting with someone in the grocery line, we should “be ready in season and out of season” to declare His praises and His truth to a watching world.