How often do I read the intro to one of Paul's letters and just quickly skim it? Pretty much all the time....grace and peace, blah blah blah, yeah I've got it. This week it was different. There was a phrase in the intro to 1 Timothy that grabbed . I've read it a lot of times before, but this time it got me.
"To Timothy, my true son in the faith:" (v. 2)
What does it mean to have a "true son"? What does it mean to be a "true father"? When we look at a faith journey in Christ, clearly there is a generational component when this life is done well. We are not simply to share the Gospel and make converts to Christianity. We are called, at some level at least, to birth new believers and parent them in the faith. This is all really the work of the Holy Spirit, but we are given an important role in this process. "My true son in the faith". Do I have any "true sons"? Who are my "true fathers" in the faith? Can I have more than one "true father"? What's the optimal number of "true sons"? Am I being a "true father" in the faith to my own biological sons? I pray that I am. I know that I am not doing it perfectly, but neither did Paul. Although I bet he was pretty good at what he did nearly all the time.
In the rest of the chapter we see a warning about false teachers and an explanation of Paul's gratitude for the grace and mercy that's been shown to him. We also see some serious words of encouragement to Timothy about fighting the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience (v. 18-19). Paul is a spiritual father to Timothy and he acts like it.
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