My mind has been on Timothy. Although it has been reasoned that Timothy was in his 30’s at the time of his conversion, Paul spoke to him through his epistles as one of young age.
How it must be when God places that call in your heart. When you feel a leading to do a work for Him it must be hard at times to find direction without a Paul to guide you.
And guide he did. Paul used strong yet careful words leading Timothy along through his ministry, guiding him through pitfalls and giving him the basis to make sound biblical decisions within the church.
He said “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Timothy 4:12) He taught him how to treat people with respect, earning respect in the process.
I guess as a mother, my own love and appreciation for the teaching of Paul grows with each time I read them, each time I study these writing by Paul to his “son in faith” (I Timothy 1:2). I can only imagine how Timothy’s own mother, Eunice, felt seeing the loving guidance that her son was given knowing she could not navigate him through the waters of his charge, but that he needed a man of God to steer him through.
Oh, when the Lord steps in and places a burden within you, the desire you have to “press toward the mark” (Philippians 3:14) becomes consuming. And without a loving hand to direct it would be easy to falter, to make irreparable mistakes, to lose your direction and drive.
I can imagine Eunice on her knees praying for leadership for her son, praying for someone to teach him the things she could not, to teach him what it means not just to be a man, but to be a man of God, to overcome fear and timidness, to rightly divide the word, to fight, to remember, to serve.
I can imagine because I too have prayed, and prayed.
Jesus, will You ever know how much love I have for You in my heart, for it overflows me. To know You hear me, You hear my prayers, my cries, “such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” I don’t know what is in store for my own “Timothy” but You do for Your Word says “Thou has beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.” And I am so so thankful You have heard the cries of this mother throughout the years and have as always poured out above and beyond anything I could ever ask or hope for. My cup surely runneth over. I am so thankful for the “Paul’s” in our lives. My Precious Lord, my Savior, my Jesus. You are the love of my life.
Timothy’s Burden
