Deeper Reflection
IN THIS PASSAGE, WE SEE THE APOSTLE PAUL WRITING tenderly to his spiritual son, Timothy. He addressed Timothy as “my beloved child” (v.2). Clearly, Paul had great affection for Timothy and likened their relationship to a biological father-and-son relationship. For some of us, when we think of discipling the generations, we think that the role belongs only to those who have offspring. But this passage shows us that discipling the generations is for all believers, regardless of whether the Christian has biological children. In Paul’s view, he had served God with a pure conscience, just as his ancestors did (v.3). Their practice of sincere, genuine service to God seemed to have flowed to Paul, who was glad to carry on such a legacy. It seemed that Paul was very grateful to God that he could pass the baton, so to speak, to someone like Timothy. Now Timothy was the one to carry the torch and run with it in the next lap of faithful service to God.The phrase “sincere faith” in verse 5 carries the notion of having no pretence or hypocrisy. As Paul thought about Timothy’s sincere faith in Christ Jesus, he recalled that such faith first resided in Timothy’s grandmother, then his mother and was evidently passed on to Timothy (v.5). What a godly relay race! Timothy’s sincere faith was something both taught and caught, and his ancestors were instrumental in its transmission! Since the faith of the previous generations – whether in one’s biological or spiritual family – can have a major impact on the lives of next generation believers, let us labour to make disciples!