Guard What Has Been Entrusted to You

“ O Timothy.” Can’t you just hear Paul exhorting his young son in the Lord in 1 Timothy 6:20? “Guard what has been entrusted to you.” Take care of it, son, protect it. Pay attention to it. Grow it. Cultivate it. Nourish it, and then guard it. Just what is “it”, and how should Timothy guard it? What had Timothy been entrusted with that was so valuable that Paul had to give special instructions to him to guard it?

A little further down on the page of my Bible, (actually 2 Timothy 1:12) Paul states that he is confident that God is able to keep and guard what He (Paul) has entrusted to the Lord, but what had the Lord entrusted to him? What Paul had entrusted to God, was his entire self, and what each person who comes to a saving faith and relationship with God also entrusts to God is each person’s total self. We entrust God with all we are, all we are not, and all we are yet to become. We entrust God with our selves. We trust that He is able to keep us until the day He returns for us. We give Him ourselves in relationship.

Paul, as well as Timothy, and we are also entrusted with something…but what is it? In 2 Timothy 1:14, Timothy is again encouraged by Paul to “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure that has been entrusted to you.” Me? A treasure within? Sounds pretty important, and if it is a treasure, it certainly needs to be guarded. But what is it? According to 2 Corinthians 4:7, it is the gospel of salvation. It is the Good News! We who have been set free have the treasure of the Good News within us!

Wait a minute. I thought we were supposed to share the Good News… not guard it. The “guarding” that Paul is talking about here is not a selfish hoarding of our Good News, but rather a guarding of the purity, truth and substance of it. Guarding the truth of the Good News, and not letting it get watered down or altered. In 1 Timothy 6:20-21, Paul says to avoid worldly and empty chatter and opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” – which some have professed and gone astray from the faith. In other words, we are not to let someone with seemingly more “knowledge” talk you out of the truth that has set you free. The Gospel, the Word of God is a treasure. It is powerful. It makes or breaks a life. It can take what is broken and make it whole. It can take a prisoner and set him FREE. It is, indeed, a valuable treasure, and as such, the truth of it needs to be guarded and protected. Paul charged Timothy (1 Tim.4, especially verse 12 and 2 timothy 4) to not be afraid of boldly confessing the truth of the Good News. He told him not to worry about the fact that he was young. He, in essence, said- You have the truth, proclaim it, and don’t let anyone talk you out of it or tell you that you don’t know what you are talking about. Trust the Truth within you, guard the truth of it, and boldly set others free by proclaiming the Word of the Lord that is in you.

The treasure within us is the very presence of the Lord himself. Paul entrusted God with himself in relationship. Similarly, God entrusts us with Himself in relationship. God with us and in us is what we are entrusted with. The treasure within is threefold. Because God is triune, one god expressing himself in 3 persons, we have within these earthen vessels the power of God the Father- the King of the Universe, the Word of God- the Son Jesus, and the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, who is able to speak moment by moment “this is the way, walk in it” (Isa. 30:21). We have been entrusted with the very power, word and presence of God himself, and we are to guard that, cultivate that intimate relationship, protect that truth, remember it, cherish it, and not let anything come against the firm belief in it and commitment to it.

O child of God, recognize the great treasure within you, and guard it. Your enemy will try to rip it from you, or get you to fumble it, much like the opposition in a football game. He will bring “opposing arguments” against you by “knowledgeable” people. But you, o child, guard the simple faith you have. Stand firm in it, and then share it.

Paul himself stated he did not come to people with fancy words and persuasive arguments. His testimony (and ours) is- once I was blind, and now I see. Once I was captive, and now I am free. All I know is that once I was this way, and now I am a completely new person, because of the price Jesus paid for me. I am a new creature. Gone are the dark days. The future is bright because of the Light, this treasure within me. What has been entrusted to us, our relationship with God Himself, needs to be guarded, and then shared, so that others can have entrusted to them the same treasure. In chapter 2 of Second Timothy, verse 2, Paul tells Timothy to entrust the things he has learned and accepted- the truth of God with us- to other faithful men who will, in turn, teach others also.

O Timothy; O child of God; O (insert your name here), guard the treasure entrusted to you. “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me (Paul) in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 1:13). After Paul Tells Timothy to guard the truth and be strong in it, he warns him that hard times will come. The popular wisdom of the day will say it is OK to bend the truth of the Gospel. It is important for us to study and listen to the Holy Spirit in order to be able to “handle accurately the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). Part of that correct handling is to “avoid empty chatter”, and not to wrangle about words” (II Timothy 2: 16 and 14). We are to use the Word of God for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16), and then preach it- announce the treasure.

We are to be ready to share the sound doctrine in season and out of season; when we are well prepared and practiced, as well as on the spur of the moment when the occasion arises. When we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it. Guard the truth of the Good News and relationship in you, and then be ready to share it at a moment’s notice.

Like Paul, we are convinced that He is able to guard what we have entrusted to Him until that day. And God is likewise convinced that we are able to keep that which He has entrusted to us until that day. He is counting on it, and so are the searching around us.