I have heard the subject of spiritual sons and fathers discussed in some churches where much is made of the "father of the house" and "spiritual sons." At times, the concept has become trivialized when the concept is carrying to extreme ends, but that is not what I want to write about this week. In this Memo, I want to look at Paul's spiritual son, Timothy, and see if Timothy qualifies as a Proverbs 31 man, the theme of this current series. Let's start by reading what Paul wrote in Philippians 2:19-23:
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.
What can we learn about Timothy from this passage?
WHAT PRICE LEADERSHIP?
Before we answer that question, let's look at the story of how Paul and Timothy met:
Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers (Acts 16:1-5).
Notice how Timothy got started in ministry. He did not attend seminary or go through a discipleship program. He did not have to prove himself before Paul would admit him to his inner circle. What was the requirement for Timothy to work with Paul? He had to be circumcised! We won't debate why Paul thought it important for Timothy to have this procedure done, but consider the impact of this decision. It was certainly painful and probably a bit humbling to submit to the process of one man making a slight alteration to another man's most private and sensitive part of his anatomy.
Yet Timothy must have realized it was not about him and his comfort or about him and his position as a number two man to Paul. It was about Paul's mission. Timothy didn't get to carry Paul's Bible or tend to his personal needs (although he probably did that at other times) as his entry point to ministry. Timothy had to mark his manhood with a sign of submission to God and then Paul considered him ready for a life of service. For that reason, I almost assigned this Memo the title "Ouch."
HIS CREDENTIALS
Now when we look back at Philippians 2, we see the outcome of Timothy's submission to the circumciser's knife. Paul wrote that he had no one else like Timothy. That is a remarkable statement, considering that Paul traveled with the likes of Silas, Barnabas, Luke, Mark, Titus, and others. What set Timothy apart from those men? His preaching? His spiritual gifts? His charisma? No, it was none of those things. It was his absence of self that allowed him to be genuinely concerned for others' interests, even when they conflicted with his own.
The description of Timothy in Philippians has regularly challenged me to ask two questions. One is if Paul only saw one man who was able to move past self interest to others interest, then how many can I expect to see with that ability in my life? The second is much more important: Can I be the one that people meet who will summarize my existence by genuine concern for their welfare?
Being a "Timothy" isn't about being close to the man of God. It is about using that unique position to serve others. On that basis alone, Timothy qualifies as a Proverbs 31 man. It is no accident, therefore, that Paul gave his most detailed instructions about the care of widows to his trusted associate in 1 Timothy 5:1-16, thus showing that Timothy used his closeness to Paul not as a means for personal gain but to serve others—in this case, the widows.
May a generation of Timothys, men whose manhood has been marked by the circumcision of service, rise up in the Church today and serve the poor, the weak, and the distressed as God would have them do. Then they will be true sons not only of the fathers who trained them in ministry but of the Father who called them into service in the first place. Have a blessed week!
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