Who is your Timothy?

The apostle Paul thought of himself as an example to many people, especially the Corinthian church. He mentioned twice in 1 Corinthians that the church was to imitate him (4:16 and 11:1). But one person was already following that example, and his name was Timothy. In chapter 16 Paul says that Timothy was doing the work of the Lord, just as he was. There is something more to this whole thing than just a statement about the work Timothy was doing.

Later in his life, Paul would write a letter to Timothy, which we know as 2 Timothy, and he would write these words, "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). This statement was inspired not only by the Holy Spirit but also by Paul's own life.

Paul was on the wrong team for a while. When the Church began, Paul was a Pharisee, and a mean one. He actually sought out Christians and dragged them off to prison. He also approved of the death of Stephen. But Jesus got his attention one day as he was on his way to show more Christians who they were dealing with. On a mission for God, God told him he had the wrong mission. Suddenly, he was no longer on the bad guy team, and he was on the good guy team. But that did not stop people from having issues with him. Eventually he retreated to his hometown of Tarsus. Thank God the story doesn't end there.

We read in Acts 11:25 that a man named Barnabas saw what was going on in Antioch, and he went to Tarsus to get Saul (who would later be named Paul). Barnabas wanted him to be involved, and I imagine Barnabas probably played quite the mentoring role with Paul as well. In fact it is not until they leave on a mission trip that Paul becomes known as the leader. But where would he have been without Barnabas?

Let's recap. Barnabas invested himself in Paul, Paul invested himself in Timothy (and some others), and Timothy was told to invest in other faithful men, those faithful men were to be able to teach others also. Sounds like a chain reaction, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, we live in  society where these kinds of relationships are viewed as a means to an end. I want to be mentored so I can have a better job. I want to mentor someone so my name is great. And most people don't even consider mentoring a task worthy of their time and energy. That is why many of you could probably say nobody has invested themselves in you. But that is no excuse. You need a Timothy!!

You need someone to pour yourself into. As you learn to follow Jesus more and more, you should be sharing that with someone in your life. And let me tell you, your children should be first on that list.

So who is your Timothy? Or better yet, who will be your Timothy?

Gary Luedecke