In our home the following can be heard, “Honey, where’s the ketchup?” Or one of our boys will shout, “Mom, I can’t find my shoes!” My wife will come along, open the refrigerator, and in a millisecond pull out the ever-so-elusive ketchup bottle and simply respond to my son, “You’re literally standing on your shoes.” As we stand there mystified as to how she does that, she says, “The answer is right in front of you.”

When we look at the world around us, we can agree it’s sometimes a hostile environment for Christians. There is failure to see Jesus as the priceless treasure. The apostle Paul’s time was no different. Rome and the Jewish leaders appeared to be in power. Christians were offered to lions for sport. What hostility have you faced for being a child of God?

God’s Word is the dynamite that convicts the guilty conscience. It’s also the cool salve that heals our broken hearts and assures us of sins forgiven. “So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:8).

As Paul reminds Timothy, it’s not a loss to spend your life in the service of the gospel. The real loss is not to have the gospel. Leaders and governments come and go, but the Word endures forever. By faith in Jesus, so will we. Yes the answer is right in front of you! It’s Jesus!