9-22-19

1 Timothy 2:1-7

“Wanting What God Wants”

Pray for everyone.  EVERYONE.  Pray for their wellbeing.  Thank God for them.  God wills salvation for them (see 1 Tim 2:4 esp. KJV).  Christ gave himself for ALL.  This is what we read in 1 Timothy 2:1-7.  But that’s way easier to say than to do, even, it seems, for the writer (purported to be Paul) of this letter.  No sooner does he make this claim about God’s will of salvation for everyone, than he begins listing what seem like conditions and exceptions.  It seems that the radical Good News, the Truth, of Jesus Christ, is too good to be true, so we include small print, disclaimers, and exclusions.  What if – WHAT IF – the good news that God wills salvation for all, and that Jesus gave himself for all, and that we’re supposed to pray for all, were really true?  What kinds of communities would we form?  What kinds of relationships would we build?  What kinds of boundaries would disappear?