Timothy's Great Example in Acts 16
In Philippians 2:20-22 Paul says of Timothy; 20) “For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. 21) For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. 22) But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.
This is high praise for an individual to receive. And if we look back at the life of Timothy, we see that it wasn't easy for him to earn this praise. One way he led by example is that he overcame great difficulties. While his mother and grandmother were believers, his father was a Greek and was not a believer. This could have derailed his path, but it didn’t. Navigating life is hard enough, but when your parents have different beliefs and are trying to impart them on you, it can be confusing. He could have easily followed the path of his father’s teachings, you know like father, like son, but instead his mother and grandmother, Lois and Eunice, made sure that Timothy knew the scriptures and was brought up fearing the one true God. Let’s think too that in Paul’s first journey he was stoned in Lystra, where it seems that Timothy was from and while I am not sure if they were among the disciples that gathered around Paul’s stoned body or not, but they would have known and heard about this incident. When Paul asks Timothy to go with him on his journey, Timothy could have easily said that I have a pretty good reputation here and I have heard what happens when people ride with you, so I am going to stay here and continue to be a faithful disciple, but he didn’t. He picked up and went with Paul. That says a lot about this young man at this point in his life.
Timothy showed a spirit of great sacrifice. In Acts 16:3 we are told that Paul took Timothy and had him circumcised because the Jews in the areas they were going knew that Timothy’s father was Greek. This is a true act of submission. Paul and Barnabas have been to Jerusalem and the matter was discussed and a letter written saying that it was no longer required. Yet, in order to ensure the spread of the gospel, to not be a stumbling block, he went ahead and was circumcised. How many of us would have done the same. Timothy may have been younger than Paul, but Paul could see the potential in Timothy and mentored him through his life. Let us all be like Timothy.
