be approved

2 Tim. 2:15
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.

I want to put my focus on verse 15 because really stood out to me. As Christians we are God’s workmanship and we are to seek his approval. Some times we forget who we are working for. We lose focus and start seeking the approval of the people we are teaching. It is necessary to remember that we are seeking God’s approval in order to correctly handle the Scripture. I recently experienced as Christian youth speaker who spoke for about an hour and did not even bring a Bible to the stage. He wanted the approval of the students and not God. This is a tragedy and as teachers we should guard ourselves against this. We can only handle the truth correctly when we look for the meaning of the scripture and use it in the context that it is meant to be used in. As a youth minister, I can personally say that this is a difficult task. I’m excited that this verse tells me to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.” I will never reach the standard that I am striving for as a workman because that is Christ but I can do my best.

Stephen Foust