Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Timothy 2:6

"The husbandmen that laboreth must be the first to partake of the fruits." — 2 Timothy 2:6 (ASV)

The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.—Again, the picture is painted from everyday life. “The husbandman that laboureth”—with an emphasis upon “that laboureth”—is the successful tiller of the ground; it is “the labouring husbandman” for whom the earth brings forth her increase. It is the enduring, patient, self-sacrificing toil that is rewarded in the affairs of common life—the man that endures hardness, whether as a soldier, an athlete, or a tiller of the ground, wins the reward; and as in the world, so in religion.

Further on in the Epistle, the Apostle speaks of his having won the crown of righteousness. He had endured hardness of every conceivable kind; every affliction for the Lord’s sake he had endured except death, and that he was expecting, and knew it could not be long delayed. The teaching of St. Paul in this triple picture is—not every soldier wins his commander’s applause, but only the veteran who devotes himself heart and soul to his profession; not every athlete wins the crown or prize, but only he who trains with anxious, painful care; not every tiller of the ground gathers the earth’s fruits, but only the patient toiler.

So must it be in religious life. It is not enough to say we are Christians, or even to wish to be of the brotherhood of Christ. People must really live the life they say they love.