“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Anyone who spent time in the AWANA program will probably recognize this verse. It’s where the name AWANA comes from — “Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed.”
Paul told his spiritual son Timothy that it matters how we live. And it takes real work — serious effort — to live as God wants us to. “Try hard,” he wrote. “Do your best.” He wanted Timothy to get that it’s worth the hours of study and prayer and the sacrifice of doing easier, funner things to focus on harder, more valuable ones.
And what is this work? For Timothy (but also for us) it involves handling God’s Word in the right way. Not focusing on the words so we can be good debaters, but using the words to pull out the truth God wants us to understand. That takes time, understanding, and effort.
Think: You work hard at a few things in your life. Is understanding God’s Word correctly one of them?
Pray: Ask God to give you the desire to be an unashamed workman when it comes to handling his Word.
Do: If you’ve never done so before, try to memorize this verse.