Our president comes up with some funny names for those who oppose him like Crooked Hillary, Crazy Joe Biden, Low Energy Jeb, and many others. In the Bible the disciple named Timothy could well have had the nickname Trusted Timothy, because that was how he lived his life.
Timothy was a man well loved and respected by the Apostle Paul and one who was trusted to do the work of the Lord. Trusted….Wow, what a word. Can you be trusted? If so, why? It is probably because you are dependable and have showed yourself to be someone who can be relied on. Have you ever relied on someone to do something they say they will do and then see it not happen because they didn’t come through. It is very disappointing to have this happen. The very trust we have in our life begins to unravel when it happens over and over. People let us down, and by the way, we let other people down also. Timothy was a trusted companion of Paul and set a standard for the trust by coming through again and again. Timothy was from the Lyconian city of Lystra in Asia Minor, born of a Jewish mother who had become a Christian believer, and a Greek father. The Apostle Paul met him during his second missionary journey and he became Paul’s companion and co-worker, also with Silas. Timothy quickly grew in the faith and Paul trusted him with some very important assignments. He was a trusted companion of Paul and Paul’s trust was not easily given out.
Which brings to mind, “Can you be trusted?” I mean as a follower of Jesus Christ can you be trusted, or counted on? If so, keep up the good work and keep honoring God with your trustworthy lifestyle because it is very much needed. It seems that a slide in the trust area has infiltrated the Christian walk and makes it easy for people to not follow through with commitments made to God. What brought this on? I believe the attitude of “getting” has replaced the attitude of “giving.” I’m not a psychologist but common sense seems to point to the life of leisure that has been created by the continued growth of media in our life as a big problem. Most everything can be accessed by the click of a button or the thought of clicking a button. There is far too little “buy in” and far too much half heartedness. Timothy’s name means “honoring God” And Timothy did honor God with his tenacious attitude about serving and following through with the instructions given to him by Paul.
Timothy was so trusted that Paul left him in leadership in the church at Ephesus, which was the church Paul seemed to have very strong ties to. In Paul’s letters to Timothy he continued to encourage Timothy to be bold, be an example, and be a leader. Paul’s instructions were to the point and very helpful, just like when he writes in Chapter 1 verse 3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
Paul knew that Timothy would have to deal with a little bit of everything when it comes to leading a church and his instructions gave him some insights into what he might face in the future. Paul’s writings about prayer, leadership, and many other things are followed today by many New Testament, evangelical churches. Timothy got the instruction first hand and acted on them and his trusted life of commitment bore much fruit in the work he was doing.
We should learn from Trusted Timothy about commitment and focus, and that learning needs to be sprinkled with the love of God. I hope I have a “good” nickname when it comes to being named for characteristics in my life and I hope I will continue to be trusted by God to do the right things. Timothy is a great example, so lets follow it and thus live the life we are called to live.
The Pilgrimage continues….
David Warren
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