We All Need a Timothy - December 20

Read 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we were destined for this.

Reflect

When you were a new believer, did God send anyone into your life to “establish and exhort” you? Who was that person and what did they mean to you?

Babies and young children are precious, but they are also vulnerable. We all know that. They need supervision, guidance, and care to help them grow and mature into strong, capable adults. The same is true for “baby” Christians. Brand-new believers are baby Christians no matter how old they may actually be. A child of 8 who has accepted Christ is a baby Christian but so is a newly converted 55-year-old. Someone could be a baby Christian at 99 and we’d praise God for that!

The point is that brand-new believers are precious. They are the newest members of the family of God! They are saints and co-heirs with Christ the same as us. But they are immature believers who need more mature believers to help them develop spiritual disciplines and solid doctrine. They need the opportunity to spend time reading the Bible for themselves and they need solid pastors teaching them the Word. They need to be “catechized,” which simply means that they need to be instructed in the core doctrines of the Christian faith. They need time and care in order to grow deep roots in Christianity. They have been born-again. Now, they need the opportunity to get established.

As we’ve been reading 1 Thessalonians, Paul has compared his feelings towards the believers in Thessalonica to that of a parent caring for his children. He’s compared himself to both a nursing mother (1 Thessalonians 2:7) and a caring father (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12). He has expressed his deep affection and concern for them, especially as he was abruptly run out of town long before he intended to leave them (1 Thessalonians 2:17). Imagine how much you’d worry about your kids if you had to leave them before you were finished raising them. Would they be ready for the “real world”? Will they know what to do when trouble comes? Are they strong enough to handle anything that life might throw at them? That seems to be Paul’s level of concern for the Thessalonian church.

So Paul was willing to make a sacrifice. He was willing to send one of his more mature spiritual children, Timothy, back to the Thessalonians to check on them. He gave Timothy this charge: “establish and exhort” them in the faith so that the trials they were facing would not “move” them.

First, Paul wanted Timothy to shore up their faith and strengthen their foundation so that their faith wouldn’t fall apart when challenged. Second, Paul wanted Timothy to exhort them which means to encourage them and motivate them to be strong in the Lord and hold fast to the hope of the Gospel in spite of affliction. Like a parent warning their children that life is hard, Paul reminded them that all believers are destined for trials and tribulations. It’s not if persecution comes, but when.

Paul knew that the Thessalonian believers’ faith was young and immature but it was already being challenged! And he cared so deeply for them! So, he sent Timothy, “his true child in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2) to them, leaving Paul without his trusted co-worker in Athens. He sacrificed the company and help of one spiritual child to go support and encourage his other spiritual children who had a serious need of pastoral care.

If you are a brand-new believer or are a fairly new Christian, don’t go it alone! You need at least one Timothy in your life to help establish your faith, encourage you to keep growing, and stay faithful when the going gets tough. Frankly, even the most deeply rooted, mature Christian needs a Timothy to urge them to keep the faith when they are persecuted or experiencing discouraging times. We all need a Timothy!

Respond

Lord, thank You for sending more mature believers to help me grow and mature in my faith in You. Thank You for the people who still encourage me when affliction strikes. Help me to identify people around me who need establishing and exhorting. Equip me to be like a Timothy to someone who needs it. Amen.

Reveal

Find a fellow believer who could use some encouragement and exhort them to keep the faith. You could also send a note thanking someone who has helped establish or encourage you in your faith.