A Contemplative Reflection of 2 Timothy 1
Luke Cunningham
One of my sons recently decided he wanted to join me for a workout, but only if he could do what I was doing. Now, my 3-year-old is strong, but he’s still got a few years before he’s making me nervous. Nonetheless, he was adamant that he could do what I was doing, and who am I to stop my boy from becoming a man! So I spent the next 30 minutes getting in a terrible workout while my son pretended to do the bulk of the heavy lifting… and I enjoyed every second of it!
The pride on his face when he “lifted” the weight and his pump-up dancing in the mirror to Pitbull’s “Fireball” was such a fun moment for us. Still, the truth was he wasn’t doing any of the work. He was trying, and having a blast, but his dad was doing all the heavy lifting for him.
That’s the heart of the message the Apostle Paul is trying to communicate to Timothy in the first chapter of his second letter to him. Paul started the church in Ephesus and then suddenly got arrested, throwing Timothy into a position of leadership many thought he wasn’t quite qualified for. Paul wrote the pastoral epistles of Timothy to encourage this young man in his big task. What was his encouragement?
"So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News… Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you." - 2 Timothy 1:8-10; 13-14
Paul gives Timothy the gift of liberty from having to lead all by himself with the weight of the church on his shoulders. Instead, Paul makes much of the power of God! Timothy didn’t choose this assignment, God did. Yet Paul tells Timothy to overcome his insecurities; to set aside his shame; to fall deeply into the dependence of grace; and to rely on the life-changing, stronghold-breaking power of our savior Jesus Christ to lead him through a surprising new season!
This is the message we need more of in leadership: Not to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, but to place that weight on the shoulders of the One who created the world. As Paul mentioned in his letter to the Romans, “the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in us.” Paul’s encouragement to Timothy is the same - resurrection power is with us in our leadership if we remain submitted to Jesus and “guard this precious truth that has been entrusted to us.”
That was the secret to Timothy conquering his fears, overcoming his insecurities, and leading beyond his own shame. It worked for Timothy, it works for me, and it will work for you too. Together, may we become leaders who change the world, not because of us, but because of the Spirit of God at work within us.