After a long, warm, breathtakingly gorgeous
autumn, winter snuck up on me today.
Winter does that—it kind of sneaks up.
In 2 Timothy 4, Paul—who’d been stoned,
shipwrecked, and seized—now lay chained in a cold, dank prison under the Emperor
Nero. In his loneliness and anticipation of winter, he beckons Timothy to join
him and bring the bare essentials that he knows he’ll need to get through.
Though only a few things, they’re worth noting.
“When you come, bring the cloak that I left
with Carpus at Troas...”
Winter doesn’t always come skulking its way
into November. There’s a coldness of heart that can capture the soul in a
spiritual dungeon. And in the iciness of the moment, we long for a covering—a
covering that’s warm, that will protect us. Paul needed a real, seriously warm
garment. For the winters of the spirit, that warmth could be a number of
things—but it must be warm; it must protect.
“…and my scrolls, especially the parchments.”
During the warm and playful seasons, we might
not hunger for the Word—but not in winter. In the winters of my life, I’ve
sucked in the words of the Bible—searching—seeking—desiring wisdom, desiring
comfort, desiring the very presence of the Holy Spirit.
Paul was wise; he wanted the scrolls early.
He wanted them before winter. But,
maybe the one thing he wished for the most was Timothy himself. Twice he
beseeches him: “Do your best to come to me quickly.” “Do your best to get here
before winter.”
Life can carry us down roads we do not wish
to travel. Read 2 Timothy 4 to hear the urgency in Paul’s voice.
Winter—the winters of the soul—
Paul anticipated winter and what he knew he’d
need to make it through: a cloak, the Word, a dear friend.
And maybe the smartest thing of all is that
he knew he needed them before the deep chill. Perhaps he felt the cold dankness
of his cell that warned of the coming freeze.
Good advice from a man, close to death,
anticipating winter.
—a cloak, the Word, a friend.
Secure them now—because winter has a way of
sneaking up on us.
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