for I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, as it dwells (I feel sure) in yourself.

Hence I would remind you to rekindle the divine gift which you received when my hands were laid upon you;

who has saved us and called us to a life of consecration ??not for anything we have done but because he chose to do it himself, by the grace which he gave us ages ago in Christ Jesus

for which I have to suffer imprisonment as if I were a criminal. (But there is no prison for the word of God.)

my persecutions, my sufferings ??all that befell me at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, all the persecutions I had to undergo, from which the Lord rescued me.

Now the crown of a good life awaits me, with which the Lord, that just Judge, will reward me on the great Day ??and not only me but all who have loved and longed for his appearance.