Timothy was a young preacher who was admired by the Apostle Paul. Timothy was from Lystra, and he was highly respected by the brethren (Acts 16:1-2). He was someone who had a close friendship with Paul (Philippians 2:19-22).
What contributed to Timothy becoming the kind of man he became, and how can we raise our children to become like him?
He was taught the faith early.
- From the time he was a child, Timothy was taught the sacred writings (2 Timothy 3:14-15). He was taught the word of God by his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5).
- Timothy’s father was probably not a disciple (Acts 16:3).
- What Timothy’s mother and grandmother did for him is what we need to be doing for our children today! While our kids are still young, we need to ground them in the truth of God’s word (Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 11:18-19). Doing this is the most important thing we could ever do for them!
He had a sincere faith.
- Timothy had a real and genuine faith (2 Timothy 1:5). He was not a religious hypocrite!
- Maintaining a sincere faith is critical to the upbringing of our children (Deuteronomy 11:18-19). We can’t expect our children to take being a disciple seriously if they don’t first see us taking it seriously every day.
- In addition to teaching them the word of God, we also need to show them how to apply God’s word by that we live.
He had an active faith.
- As a young disciple, Timothy bore much fruit in the kingdom of God. He traveled with Paul preaching the word of God. He helped build up the church in Ephesus. He encouraged Paul while the apostle was in prison.
- Timothy was blessed to have seasoned disciples encourage him to serve God in the days of his youth (1 Timothy 4:12-14).
- We also must motivate our young people to be active in the work of God (Ecclesiastes 12:1-2). Young disciples need to understand that having an active faith is the best thing they could do in the days of their youth.
Conclusion:
Timothy had a faith that pleased God. Do you?
