When reading II Timothy, one gets a sense of Paul, the man. It is probable that Paul is old and in prison when he writes this letter to his protege, who is carrying on his work while he can't. Paul is lonely. The only person he gives credit for being there for him in prison is Onesiphorous. I don't know who this person is, except that Paul prays that God blesses his family for his kindness.
So, what does Paul, in his lonely state, want to share with Timothy? He wants Timothy to be bold in sharing the Gospel. One gets the impression that Timothy was an impressive young man, but sort of timid. He was able to start his ministry being the assistant to Paul and Silas, two who were very bold in the faith. He was able to play the important background role. But then he got sent on his own as the "church straightener"--Paul's representative to help out struggling churches. Then, when Paul was imprisoned, he seemed to take on the mantle of chief evangelist (although I am not sure about this). Timothy was one of the leaders, although probably younger and less of a "natural leaders" than many who wanted to usurp his authority. So, Paul encourages Timothy to be bold in utilizing his spiritual gifts and to not let others be swayed by false teachers.
What does this tell us about lonely Paul? He didn't beg Timothy to come back to him. He encouraged Timothy to continue his work. This is not to say that he didn't want Timothy to return (see the last few verses of the book), but rather that Paul understood that what Timothy was doing was more important. Lonely Paul was selfless enough to sacrifice his own happiness for the well being of the Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment