Encouraging Timothy in Teaching

Text: 1 Timothy 4:7b-16

Reflection and Question: Paul is the mentor of Timothy, a young Christian, and offers his young colleague this strong advice: “Let no one despise your youth.” A suggestion made after the last Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly reminded me of the importance of this advice. At the GA, the impact of the Young Adult Advisory Delegates had been obvious in committees and on the floor. Afterwards, a writer to the Presbyterian Outlook proposed that the youth have a separate conference, that their participation was unhelpful and unwelcome. How do you receive the teaching of our youth?

Prayer: Savior of all people, train us in godliness, we pray. Shape us, as You did Paul and Timothy, into examples of love, in faith and in purity, in speech and in conduct. May we, too, save both our hearers and ourselves. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).