“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” —2 Timothy 2:3

This past week we lost a dear loved one. To those who affectionately knew him and his twisted sense of humor, he was dubbed “God’s Favorite” or “Ambassador of Awesome.”

Jarrod was one of my best friends over the past two decades. Our youth groups shared many life experiences together when we were both youth pastors in south Florida. He and I jointly organized student rallies and youth camps. He was the brainchild behind the legendary Twinkie Relay, which we still run at our camps today. Together we went to pastor conferences, led youth retreats, and served on mission trips. Jarrod was a co-producer with Breakaway TV, which we aired on the Sky Angel network for many years. Though he will be dearly missed this side of heaven, God’s Favorite has gone home!

One of the staples of Jarrod’s life was his signature photo pose. In most instances he would be pointing at something away from the camera—something that caught on with others who always tried to mimic that pose when being photographed with him. You never knew what he was pointing at but you curiously knew that he knew. That imagery reminds me that Jarrod’s life was always pointing at something, or better yet, someone. He was a disciple maker, because disciple making is the essence of modeling a way of life that intriguingly points others to God.

Through a lifetime of heart complications, multiple surgeries, and countless hospital visits, Jarrod never stopped pointing. Every day he lived in such a way that pointed to Jesus.

Everything in our lives is pointing toward something, which inaudibly says something about who we are and what we are living for. When we raise our hands in worship we are pointing. When we witness to others we are pointing. When we are teaching the Bible we are pointing. But never are we pointing so distinctly than when we are enduring hardship like “a good soldier” of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3).

Hardships come in a variety of ways: physical illness, broken relationships, financial stress, temptations, job loss, wayward children, or persecution for one’s faith. Christians should not be caught off guard when hardships come. Jesus warned us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33); then He gave the triumphant good news: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

“I endure everything,” Paul wrote, so that people would know Christ (2 Timothy 2:10). To endure hardship is more than just surviving the pain; enduring is about thriving in grace despite the pain. It means pressing on because everything about you, and everything that happens to you (Philippians 1:12), is pointing to something so much bigger than you. How you respond to hardship in the battle-tested trenches of life points so much more emphatically to Jesus than casual Sunday morning hymns sung while life is on cruise control.

Jarrod used to say to me, “I have no idea what it’s like to have a normal heart. I just can’t even imagine that.” No, Jarrod, I wish we all knew more about your heart. I wish we all could endure suffering the way that you did—to face adversity in the same Spirit that you did.

Jarrod, thank you for teaching us how to point.

You did this in the way you modeled grace-dependence daily. You did it in the way you loved others—especially the marginalized. You did it in the way you never lost the humor—even still playing practical jokes on hospital staff all the way up to the end as your body was breathing its last. You did it in the way you led that nurse to Christ, and your legacy will continue to do it in the lives of those you have impacted.

Everything in our lives is pointing to something. What would others say your life is pointing to? Think about that, beloved, as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

Dear God, life is short. For Jarrod it seemed way too short. The world will be different without him. But he is home with you, running, dancing, jumping, perhaps eating his favorite jelly beans—with the kind of flawless heart that we can only imagine. We take comfort in his life graduation ceremony. And now his legacy lives on in us who knew him. Lord, teach us to point the way he pointed. Help our lives to model Christlikeness in all that we say and do—and especially in how we respond to hardship and suffering. Help us to be grace-dependent creatures every day. For Your glory and fame, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. Would you rather live a long life on earth without being known, or live a very short life and have a rich legacy? (*One of Jarrod’s favorite tools for engaging youth was “Would You Rather…” questions.)
2. What did Paul encourage Timothy to do with what he had been taught, and why was this important? (2 Timothy 2:2)
3. Why was Paul willing to endure anything? (2 Timothy 2:10)
4. In this passage, what example do the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer set for us?
5. This week ask someone close to you what your life points to. Try to go beyond surface cliché answers and find some specific values, even if the truth is uncomfortable (“faithful are the wounds of a friend” Proverbs 27:6). Ask God to help you reorient your life so that it will point others to know Christ, His power, His salvation, and His sufficiency.

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