Paul exhorts his readers to “train yourself for godliness…as it hold promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” This is something we each must do for ourselves. Although we can help each other, ultimately the similarity of our character to God’s character depends on our own thoughts and actions.
Just as Timothy was to be “an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” to the believers, we should do the same. “We have our hope set on the living God“, a God whose “hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear“. In this we can find great confidence and reassurance.