One
In a world obsessed with platform and popularity, what we need more of is spiritual legacy. We need to find a Paul from whom we can learn, and a Timothy to whom we can pass it on. I believe the world would be a better place if we focused less on gaining influence and more on intentional mentoring. Of all the people we see in Scripture, Paul lived this truth.
“If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.” – Philippians 2:19-24 NLT
After all the preaching, teaching, and lives Paul touched, he said he had no one quite like Timothy. It’s hard not to read between the lines and wonder if, of all the things Paul accomplished, mentoring a young Timothy and seeing him fulfill his calling may have been his greatest. After all, Paul didn’t write two letters to anyone else.
First and Second Timothy are letters to young men in ministry. The words, penned by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, have spoken to generations of young ministers trying to find their way. Yet I cannot help but wonder how many of the ministers who have read the text forgot the simplicity of the message written. To be a “Timothy” you need a “Paul.”
Recently, my oldest son had the opportunity to go to a baseball event out of town. It was designed to test and showcase each athlete’s skills and abilities. They took about 45 minutes to warm up, knowing their performance would be recorded and reviewed by coaches looking for potential recruits.
As Lauren and I watched from the stands, we noticed each athlete picking another player to warm up with. Then I saw who my son ran onto the field with, and it struck me. As my 16 year old ran onto the field to warm up, the youngest and smallest kid at the event that day ran out with him.
I think that’s a visual of leadership. Leadership is seeing the “one” that no one else sees. It’s realizing that it’s ok to lose traction if another gains traction by our loss. It’s ok to think of the kid that you used to be before you were so big. It’s ok to look behind you and remember that someone looked behind them and brought you along.
That day, Wes may not have found his Timothy, but he did show me that he had the beginnings of a Paul-like heart.
Paul would die in prison alone. He would write his last letter, and it wouldn’t be to a church. It would be to Timothy. Paul would begin with…
“To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” – 2 Timothy 1:2 NKJV
And it would end with…
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” – II Timothy 4:1-8 NKJV
Find a Paul from whom you can learn, and find a Timothy to whom you can pass it on.
Be a Paul, and be a Timothy.
Respond:
“If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.” – Philippians 2:19-24 NLT
After all the preaching, teaching, and lives Paul touched, he said he had no one quite like Timothy. It’s hard not to read between the lines and wonder if, of all the things Paul accomplished, mentoring a young Timothy and seeing him fulfill his calling may have been his greatest. After all, Paul didn’t write two letters to anyone else.
First and Second Timothy are letters to young men in ministry. The words, penned by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, have spoken to generations of young ministers trying to find their way. Yet I cannot help but wonder how many of the ministers who have read the text forgot the simplicity of the message written. To be a “Timothy” you need a “Paul.”
Recently, my oldest son had the opportunity to go to a baseball event out of town. It was designed to test and showcase each athlete’s skills and abilities. They took about 45 minutes to warm up, knowing their performance would be recorded and reviewed by coaches looking for potential recruits.
As Lauren and I watched from the stands, we noticed each athlete picking another player to warm up with. Then I saw who my son ran onto the field with, and it struck me. As my 16 year old ran onto the field to warm up, the youngest and smallest kid at the event that day ran out with him.
I think that’s a visual of leadership. Leadership is seeing the “one” that no one else sees. It’s realizing that it’s ok to lose traction if another gains traction by our loss. It’s ok to think of the kid that you used to be before you were so big. It’s ok to look behind you and remember that someone looked behind them and brought you along.
That day, Wes may not have found his Timothy, but he did show me that he had the beginnings of a Paul-like heart.
Paul would die in prison alone. He would write his last letter, and it wouldn’t be to a church. It would be to Timothy. Paul would begin with…
“To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” – 2 Timothy 1:2 NKJV
And it would end with…
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” – II Timothy 4:1-8 NKJV
Find a Paul from whom you can learn, and find a Timothy to whom you can pass it on.
Be a Paul, and be a Timothy.
Respond:
- Who is your Paul, and who is your Timothy right now?
- What's holding you back from stepping into a Paul or Timothy role? Pride, fear, busyness, or simply not looking?
- Who in your life needs your encouragement, wisdom, or example today?
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