1 You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Tina Bogg

This part of Paul's letter to Timothy continues the theme of being entrusted with the gospel. Back in chapter 1 verse 14, Paul told Timothy to guard the “treasure” entrusted to him – the gospel that had been passed to him to preach. Now Paul is expanding this and urging Timothy to pass this same gospel on to reliable people who will then be qualified to teach others.

When I read these verses, they raise the question for me: What makes someone reliable? How would Timothy have known who would be qualified to teach others? Am I reliable? This passage reminds me of how important it is not only to witness to others and tell them the good news, but also to invest time ensuring they understand and are discipled so they can go on to teach others faithfully. I don't imagine the people Timothy was discipling were expected to have a theological degree before being able to teach others, but at least they needed to remember and understand the essence of being a follower of Jesus, to trust that He is the son of God who lived, died and rose again that we might have life. They also needed to be godly in their lives (as we’ll see later in the letter) – not to be quarrelsome or greedy or abusive, but to live lives dedicated to God.

We have all been entrusted with the gospel, even if we don’t all have the same official roles or responsibility of teaching in the church. But we should all be working on our character to be reliable sources, and to want to grow in our godliness, understanding and ability to teach others about Jesus. This includes reading God's Word regularly so we remember it, asking questions and discussing with one another so we understand it well, and striving to be more like Jesus in our daily lives, by God’s strength. We are also called for a purpose, to keep teaching others so God’s good news can keep spreading. Pray with me that we will keep studying God's Word and being reliable disciples who share God's word with others.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tina is a member of our Bossley Park Morning congregation.