"The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."Timothy was a younger man than his mentor Paul, and had been an eager and willing student of all Paul had to teach him. He was fertile ground, because his faith had been taught to him from a very young age by his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Just as we all need a “Paul” (mentor) and a “Barnabas” (encourager), we also all need to have a Timothy: someone to pour ourselves into- someone to share whatever wisdom God has given us.
2 Timothy 2:2
Once Timothy had learned from Paul, he was instructed to go teach others; he was to become a “Paul” himself, with other “Timothys” to instruct. I once heard someone compare us to sponges: a sponge can only soak up so much water. It must be wrung out and give that water to others before it can go back to soak up more water. We’re like that, too. We can soak up learning but at some point our capacity maxes out and we must go share that knowledge before we can come back to learn more. So we start out learning all we can, and then we go teach and mentor others.
For those of us who are parents, our children are Timothys for us. It is our responsibility as parents to instruct and mentor our children. In fact, I believe parenting is discipling. Just as Timothy was instructed my his mother and grandmother, we must instruct our children. “Teach [God's words] to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19)
Even for those who are not parents, there are plenty of Timothys available. Whether you are very mature spiritually, or just a brand-spanking-new believer, you can find someone to mentor: anyone who is not as far along as you are in your walk with Christ, or perhaps someone who isn’t yet a believer at all.
Who is your Timothy? Your Paul? Your Barnabas?
