Going through some illustrations that the apostle Paul used to help mentor a man named Timothy, explaining how to live for Jesus Christ as God intended, a third example we find in 2 Timothy 2 is that of a farmer.
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
2 Timothy 2:6 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2ti.2.6.NIV
The first thing that we learn about the farmer in this example is that he or she is hardworking. If you’ve ever known – or been – a farmer, I think that you can appreciate the labor involved with this job. Left to themselves, plants rarely grow where and how you want them to. Livestock don’t wait until you’re ready to get up in the morning, and crops don’t weed themselves or sit ripe in the fields until you feel like harvesting them.
So, does following Jesus require work? Now, that could definitely trigger some theological debates, but let me emphasize that I’m talking about the expectations of a follower of Jesus who has committed to Him as their Lord and Savior. I’m not talking about “works” in the sense of earning our salvation, since Jesus paid for our sins: once for all people and for all time.
On the one hand, following Jesus absolutely takes effort (or “work” in another sense).
- Relationships – both with God and with others – take ongoing effort.
- Righteousness requires daily decision-making and listening to God.
- Reaping comes after sowing.
- Even reigning in our sinful nature is an ongoing battle.
On the other hand, Jesus’ teaching is a lot easier than following a bunch of legalistic rules, especially when those legalistic rules can never be satisfied completely (see Matthew 11:28-30, Acts 15:7-11, Galatians 5:1).
In the end, as the book of James also affirms (see James 2:14-26, for instance), work – or “deeds” – are the natural and expected outcome of one’s decision to follow Jesus. Expecting to “get saved” and then just sit around and wait for Jesus to call you home doesn’t sound anything like the abundant life that Jesus offers to His followers, nor the active life choices that He commands.
So, I would say that yes, following Jesus effectively requires work, but that’s the result of our salvation (through our commitment to our Savior), and not the source of it.
Note also that the farmer’s hard work helps in producing the crops that he or she gets “first dibs” on. The farmer doesn’t cause the crops to grow, and the farmer doesn’t keep all of the crops to himself or herself, but the blessings that the farmer receives are directly tied to his or her hard work.
As a result, I infer here that there is some connection between Timothy’s hard work for the kingdom of God, and Timothy’s rewards. And, I think that the same is true for us. For instance, just ask someone who has experienced the joy of leading someone to Christ! Furthermore, we serve a great God whose imagination is capable of producing blessings that we haven’t even thought of (see Ephesians 3:20-21).
Regardless of who or what we choose, though, we’ll probably be working hard to serve someone or something in our lives, even if it’s just working to try and do as little work as possible. Once we understand the implications of various parties that we could serve, though, we may as well serve a master who loves us, knows the best for us, and offers us ultimate purpose.
Let’s take a second look at the farmer receiving blessings from the hard work that is put in. Do you know Christians who turn down gifts from God? Maybe He provides them with a great job opportunity, or offers them recognition for their service, but these people turn it down. Or, maybe God has prompted another Christian to provide them with money, skills, or time to address their needs, yet – out of a false sense of self-sufficiency – these offers are turned down.
I think that when God offers us a blessing and prompts us to take it, we should accept it gratefully. For one thing, if we consider the examples above (a job, recognition, or help from another Christian), those can each be used as an opportunity for our testimony and ministry, if God leads you down that path. For another thing, if you offered someone a gift and they turned it down or (as you found out later), they re-gifted it shortly thereafter, that might feel a little insulting. Accepting help from others can be a blessing to them, as well.
As a result, when God offers us a gift – whether it’s prosperity, friendships, popularity, or freedom – let’s accept it. God created all things, including us, and He loves us. He’s not going to give us something that is wrong for us (see Matthew 7:7-12). I suppose that He might ask us to pass some of His blessings on to others, so maybe that’s a little bit like regifting, but even that is done at the request of the great Giver.
Let’s still be grateful, of course, but denying a blessing that God offers to us in His love might be construed as not believing that God knows better for us than we do.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 23, 2025
References:
- 1717 Bible Studies, 2 Timothy, © 2025 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1, 2 Timothy & Titus, by C. Michael Moss. © 1994 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 