This week we continue our look at Courageous Kids by looking at a Biblical character from the New Testament... Timothy. Two books of the Bible bear his name as he was the recipient of two of Paul's letters. Timothy is mention in the book of Acts as well which is where we get most of our information about him. In our two verses for today, we learn about Timothy's family background. He is a third generation believer in his family. But remember, we are in the first century, likely less than 30 or even 20 years since the resurrection. So, in order for Timothy's mother and grandmother to already be Christians, they got saved in the past 20 years. Timothy however, could have grown up hearing about Christ because his mother and grandmother converted early on. The important detail that we get when we look at these passages side by side is this: Timothy was already a Christian before Paul met him. Because both his mother and grandmother are believers, it is likely that Timothy came to faith at home being led to Christ by his own family! That is a powerful detail not to miss. In the Acts passage, we are told Timothy is already a disciple by the time Paul meets him in the town of Lystra. In the 2 Timothy passage, we are told that Paul himself is aware of the "sincere faith" held by Timothy's mother and grandmother. Yet, there's one more piece to Timothy's family puzzle. His father is a Greek. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that he is not a believer, but it does mean that he is not a Jew. So, Timothy likely grew up in a home of mixed faith, or at least mixed backgrounds. We must also remember the religious landscape of the first century was also a mixed bag. God's hand is on a young man, possibly even teenager from Lystra who is about to embark on a ministry journey that will etch his name in the annuls of Christian history forever. All from a boy who learned about Jesus from his mother! This is why we should always be ready to talk about faith at home.
Prayer:
Lord God, I want to see my family actively serving Your Kingdom and Your plans. Please help me to sense Your leading and follow boldly. Please help me also to keep You in the conversations and discussions in my home. Amen.
Reflection:
Was Jesus a topic of conversation at the dinner table when you were a kid?
What abut now?
How can you lead your family in making Jesus more normative day to day?
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