I was reading an article on how to understand Millennials and Gen Z (born between 1980-2012). This article said, “You can learn a lot about a generation by looking at the generation of parents that raised them.” In a book called A Generation at Risk, a 20-year longitudinal study revealed how parents play a major role in shaping their children's personalities, attitudes, values, self-concept, social skills, and lifestyles. Children will carry these traits with them into adulthood and these values will be transferred to the next generation. This study also found that despite one's problematic family background a child could, with the right type of investment over time, live very healthy and fulfilling lives as adults.
I believe that in this day and age that the investment that godly moms and dads, friends, neighbors, and the church make in children, teens, and young adults can play a major role in positively shaping the next generation. This brings us to today’s passage.
2 Tim 1: 1-12
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 to Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
Timothy’s faith was shaped by his:
Mother & Grandmother
Mentors
Let’s look at what the passage reveals about:
1. Timothy’s Mother & Grandmother
This letter was written by the apostle Paul to a young man named Timothy, who may have come to the faith when Paul had visited the town of Lystra during his first missionary journey (48 AD). When Paul returned to Lystra on his second missionary journey he heard about this young man Timothy from the other Christians who spoke about his spiritual growth and maturity. My question is: What brought about this incredible growth/spiritual maturity in such a short time? What shaped Timothy’s faith?
Warren Wiersbe said:
Apparently Lois, Timothy’s Jewish grandmother, was the first one in the family who placed her faith in Jesus; then his mother, Eunice, was converted. Timothy’s father was a Greek (Acts 16:1), which indicates that Eunice was not strictly following her Jewish faith. However, Timothy’s mother and grandmother had seen to it that he was taught the OT Scriptures from his youth (2 Tim. 3:15).
We are given some clues about what shaped Timothy’s faith in 2 Timothy and Acts 16. We can observe in this passage that Paul was intimately acquainted with Timothy’s family and had witnessed their sincere faith. The word sincere means: genuine faith, without hypocrisy, not phony, it is a behavior free from hidden agendas or selfish motives. Their faith was a real faith, a true Messianic faith. As a young boy, Timothy most likely heard them pray the Shema every evening from Deut 6:4-5:
Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again 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. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The influence Timothy’s mom and grandma had on his life prepared his heart to hear and receive the gospel years later. There are many examples of faithful moms in the Bible and throughout history whose godly investment shaped the lives of their children. I cannot stress the importance of having good resources to teach your kids the Scriptures, for creating a godly atmosphere in the home, and praying with them. We can all testify about how our parents' words, actions and decisions influenced us. Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States said:
I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
Whether it was your mother (or father or other relative) someone has influenced and continues to influence your life and all of you have an influence on someone else’s life. For parents, your children are a gift from the Lord and so it is vital that you take advantage of the time you have now to invest in them. Even if your children are not saved or don’t understand all they have learned about Jesus, even if they are not sure why they are coming to church, to Sunday school/youth connect, this is the time to pour Jesus’ life and His word into their lives during their formative years because it will have an impact on them in the years to come. Timothy’s grandmother’s and mother’s faith didn’t save him but it shaped his life and prepared his heart to receive the gospel and develop his own relationship with God. Timothy had accepted Christ and Paul could see that his faith was solid. The second thing that shaped his life after salvation was…
2. Timothy’s Mentors
We know that one of Timothy’s most influential mentors was Paul. Paul wrote his last letter to his beloved son in the faith while chained up in a small, cold prison carved out of rock. Paul wanted Timothy to know that he thought about him often and prayed for him daily. As a mentor, Paul not only interceded for Timothy in prayer, he involved himself in Timothy’s life by taking him on his second missionary journey, training him up in the things of God, and giving him a solid foundation in the Word. As Timothy learned, his faith grew and as his faith grew, he was given greater opportunities to be used by God.
God was shaping Timothy into a mature young man through his family, through the teaching of the Word, and through Paul’s investment. Paul was passing the baton onto his beloved son in the faith. And as I had mentioned earlier, even though Timothy was young, perhaps weak, somewhat shy, Paul saw that Timothy’s personal faith and walk with God was no longer dependent on his mom and grandma’s faith. It was not shallow, but personal and genuine.
Throughout 1st and 2nd Timothy, and especially here in verse 6 in 2 Tim 1, Paul was exhorting this young man to continue to cultivate and to stir up the gift that God had given him. In other words, he was encouraging him to be bold, to be strong, take hold of the truth, and allow God to use his life for His kingdom. He encouraged him to cultivate and develop his Spirit-given gifts for what God intended them for.
We all need to be stirred up, constantly exhorted and encouraged to use our Spirit given gifts for God’s glory. It’s too easy to step back from God’s calling on our lives and grow cold, complacent, and comfortable doing things that serve our own interests in the power of our own strength. The way to stir up the gift or fan the flame is by using and cultivating our gifts in the body of Christ, to build up the church as Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus (Eph 4:12-13). He is saying to Timothy, let God shape your character, through godly principles and values, and let the Spirit motivate you to live for God, to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ. Take these truths that you have learned and pass them onto those who are committed to preserving the pure word of God. As a friend and mentor Paul prayed earnestly for Timothy, got involved in his life, exhorted him to stir up his gift and helped him through his fears and anxieties. Timothy, when the fears arise you can know that they are not from God. The Holy Spirit does not fill you with fear and cowardice, He does not cause you to withdraw.
We all have areas where we may be timid or anxious - but it is the Spirit that gives us power. The word power here is the ability to achieve what God has called us to by depending upon His Spirit. "Power through God's ability." The Spirit's power is needed in every scenario and detail of life. We need His power to overcome temptation, fight spiritual battles, and to grow in godliness. We need the Spirit’s power to express biblical love to each other like Jesus expressed God’s love for this world. The Spirit has given us the power through His Word to think or behave in a way that is “fitting” for any given situation - this is called self-control. The Spirit gives us good judgment, discernment, and wisdom. Feeling weak, timid, and inadequate even though you want to serve God? Feeling like Timothy? If so, you are an inviting prospect for the Holy Spirit. And if you call upon Him, He will fill you with His “power.”
Paul told Timothy that he has nothing to be ashamed of who he believes in or about the Christian associations he has made. The Word ashamed means to be disgraced, personally humiliated because you placed your confidence or support in the wrong thing or person. Nothing is more humiliating than when you realized you placed your confidence or support in the wrong thing or person. As Timothy's mentor Paul was not ashamed of His relationship with Christ, even though he suffered for standing up for the truth of the gospel. Paul modeled the life of a true follower of Jesus. He said:
This is why I suffer as I do. Still, I am not ashamed; for I know Him [and I am personally acquainted with Him] whom I have believed [with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in the truth of His deity], and I am persuaded [beyond any doubt] that He is able to guard that which I have entrusted to Him until that day [when I stand before Him] (2 Tim 1:12).
As Paul’s relationship with Jesus grew so did his confidence and assurance in the One he had placed his trust. Paul lived for God and was confident that even if he died for Him he would have nothing to be ashamed and have no regrets on the day he would stand before the Lord. Lois, Eunice, and Paul's investment made a difference in Timothy’s life. Even though they never saw the full extent of their investment, Timothy went on to make a difference in so many others’ lives, guarding the deposit entrusted to him for the next 50 years. Foxe's book of Martyrs records that Timothy was finally martyred in Ephesus for preaching the truth at the age of 80.
We thank the Lord for godly moms and mentors who have shaped the lives of others through their investment of intercessory prayer, intentional involvement in their lives, exhortation, encouragement, and by their faithful, godly example. Can you think of someone who’s investment in your life impacted you and still affects you today? Who is speaking into your life today? We are who we are because of the people who invested in us. For me, it was my brother, youth ministers, pastors, co-workers, my wife, and friends who are still speaking into my life.
We have so many treasures from the Word of God that we can pass onto the next generation. What examples are we setting for others to follow? What life changing lessons, truths, guiding principles can we pass down to the next generation? How can we by the power of the Spirit be part of shaping the next generation and encouraging them to take a stand for the Lord, to speak up for truth and what is right when the world is telling Christians to sit down and keep our convictions to ourselves. How can we be an example to others, partner with the parents in helping to invest in the next generation?
