Son!

Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. (First Timothy 1:18-19)

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (Second Timothy 1:5)

On Sunday, Pastor Althea spoke to us about having and leaving a legacy of faith. We took time to reflect on Paul’s second letter to Timothy, in which we see Paul testify to a generational pattern on the maternal side of Timothy's family. Paul says, in effect, Your grandmother had a certain way of living; your mother had a certain way of living; and you, Timothy, are conducting your life in the same way they did... the way of faith.

Our pastor also made mention of Acts chapter 16. In that chapter we see that Timothy’s biological father was identified not by faith-walk, but only by culture:

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. (Acts 16:1-3)

Perhaps we are not too far from this narrative. We may have come to faith in households where some family members were believers in Jesus and others were not. Some of us may currently be in situations where we are the only Christian in the home. But, we serve a gracious God! In these letters from Paul to Timothy, God has revealed that He can add a spiritual layer to our family tree. For Timothy, the lack of testimony concerning his biological father’s spiritual health was overridden by the apostolic covering of Paul. The Lord who caused Paul to adopt Timothy as a “son in the faith” (First Timothy 1:2) is our Lord, and He still has people of faith living today.

Are you a person of faith?

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