Timothy, An Example of Dedicated Service
In Philippians 2:20-22 the apostle Paul gives us a truly extraordinary description and commendation of his best friend, son in the faith, and fellow servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, Timothy. He starts with the amazing statement, "For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state." (Philippians 2:20 KJV) Of all the people Paul encountered and worked with, he singles out young Timothy (whom some scholars think Paul met shortly after Timothy's sixteenth birthday) as the only man he knows who has the same attitude toward Jesus as himself. And he says of Timothy that his caring for others is "natural" for him. That is to say that it is Timothy's natural character to think about others before himself. Paul makes this point clear in vs. 21-22 where he states that all others "seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's", but Timothy has shown the proof that he served the gospel "as a son of the father."
When most Christians and preachers talk about the great men of the New Testament, they always seem to start with Peter and John. Then they mention the sacrifices of Stephen and James, the brother of Christ. And of course Paul is spoken of with his partners Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, and Luke. But they seem to forget that Paul himself singles out Timothy as the best example of them all of service to Christ as a true son of God.
In his book, Paul: A Novel, Walter Wangerin portrays Timothy as a single child whose Greek father has recently died. His Jewish mother then seeks a Rabi to teach her son the ways of her religion. The man she discovers is Paul. At that point the apostle not only becomes the young man's teacher, but also his father figure. A bond immediately develops between the two, and when Paul decides it is time for him to move on, he asks Timothy to become his partner in his work to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is then that Timothy makes his life-long commitment to Paul and service to Christ. And, as Jesus commands in Luke 9:62, once Timothy had "put his hand to the plow" he never looked back.
We really know very little about Timothy's background. We know he was born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother in Greek-Roman Asia Minor. (It was because he had a Jewish mother that Paul agreed to circumcise him.) We know from Paul's two letters to him that he was young. We know that he seemed to be with Paul or running errands for Paul until his final days of imprisonment. And we know that he settled in Ephesus where he served the region as the spiritual leader until his sacrificial death by stoning.
When it comes to looking for an example of how we can demonstrate proof that we are true followers of Christ Jesus, Timothy stands out as one of the best. But it is surely not be human effort that we could ever achieve the same "natural" attitude of service to God which Timothy displayed. It can only be the result of living in the Holy Spirit. By opening our hearts to the Spirit of Jesus, which Timothy must have done from his first introduction to Christ, we can become the kind of "son of the father" that Paul so trusted and loved.
May God's peace be with you.
When most Christians and preachers talk about the great men of the New Testament, they always seem to start with Peter and John. Then they mention the sacrifices of Stephen and James, the brother of Christ. And of course Paul is spoken of with his partners Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, and Luke. But they seem to forget that Paul himself singles out Timothy as the best example of them all of service to Christ as a true son of God.
In his book, Paul: A Novel, Walter Wangerin portrays Timothy as a single child whose Greek father has recently died. His Jewish mother then seeks a Rabi to teach her son the ways of her religion. The man she discovers is Paul. At that point the apostle not only becomes the young man's teacher, but also his father figure. A bond immediately develops between the two, and when Paul decides it is time for him to move on, he asks Timothy to become his partner in his work to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is then that Timothy makes his life-long commitment to Paul and service to Christ. And, as Jesus commands in Luke 9:62, once Timothy had "put his hand to the plow" he never looked back.
We really know very little about Timothy's background. We know he was born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother in Greek-Roman Asia Minor. (It was because he had a Jewish mother that Paul agreed to circumcise him.) We know from Paul's two letters to him that he was young. We know that he seemed to be with Paul or running errands for Paul until his final days of imprisonment. And we know that he settled in Ephesus where he served the region as the spiritual leader until his sacrificial death by stoning.
When it comes to looking for an example of how we can demonstrate proof that we are true followers of Christ Jesus, Timothy stands out as one of the best. But it is surely not be human effort that we could ever achieve the same "natural" attitude of service to God which Timothy displayed. It can only be the result of living in the Holy Spirit. By opening our hearts to the Spirit of Jesus, which Timothy must have done from his first introduction to Christ, we can become the kind of "son of the father" that Paul so trusted and loved.
May God's peace be with you.
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