1 Timothy: A Strong Man Is CourageousSample

The Power of Mentorship

1 Timothy is not just about cleaning up bad doctrine in a church. It’s also a letter from an older man directing a younger man on how to lead through a very challenging situation.

When Paul first met Timothy, Timothy was living with his mother and grandmother in a town called Lystra in modern-day Turkey. There is no mention of Timothy’s father in the Bible, leading scholars to assume that his father had died. We discover that Timothy’s mother was Jewish and a new follower of Jesus, maybe a disciple who had come to faith as a result of Paul’s first missionary journey through that area.

Paul decided he was going to bring Timothy along on his travels and intentionally disciple him. He took Timothy under his wing like he would a son, developing him as a key leader in the early church.

If you have been a follower of Jesus for a while and you don’t currently have a young man “under your wing,” this greeting from Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2 might encourage you to start looking for one. Even the great apostle Paul had someone he was actively mentoring, someone he could refer to as “my true child in the faith.”

Today, more than ever, we need older men showing younger men how to lead well while growing spiritually. We need to be actively engaged in mentorship and discipleship in our homes, workplaces, and churches. Without this, the church in Ephesus would’ve been lost, and so would the church today.

I want you to pray a simple prayer. If you are a young man in life or the faith, I want you to pray that God will bring a wiser man like Paul across your path today. And if you are an older man, I want you to pray that God will bring a young man across your path today. After you pray, I want you to look up and anticipate that God will do just that. Let’s see what God does.

God, bring a man across my path today who will help me grow as a man and leader. Help me see who in my life I can mentor and disciple as well.