2 Timothy

2 Timothy is the warmest most personal letter and it is the final letter from Paul as well. Just imagine the aging Apostle Paul in a dungeon in Rome, he knows the end is near, for 3 decades he has given his life for the gospel, God has used him greatly, there are churches all over the empire, he has suffered greatly, wrote much of the new testament and now it is time for his departure. He is expressing his heart to Timothy in this letter; he charges, reminds, and warns him. He is writing this letter to his 'son in the faith' and we can see Paul's clear father's heart in this letter. There are 5 marks of a father in 2 Timothy.

1. Freely express love for your kids. Paul freely expresses his love for Timothy. Read 2 Timothy 1:1-2. He calls Timothy "my beloved child", in the NIV it says "my dear son." Those are both terms of endearment and love. It expresses the way Paul saw Timothy in how he addressed him. In vs. 3-4, Paul freely expresses his love for his son in the faith. "Long to see you, that I may be filled with joy." In 2 Timothy 4:9-13; 21 he is telling Timothy to come and see him to come soon. As we read that passage you can almost hear Paul's voice to Timothy.
2. Prayer is a priceless gift you can give your kids. Read 2 Timothy 1:3. We can see Paul's heart as he basically says "Timonthy you are on my heart. I'm always praying for you. All the time." Can you imagine how encouraging that would be to Timothy? This is no more valuable a gift than the gift of intercession; to bring God's power, his love, his hand down. Paul modeled this out.
3. Live the life you want to see in your kids. The way Paul lived his life is the way he wanted to see Timothy live his. He modeled what it means to walk with God. Read 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:10, 14. There is something to be said about the power of modeling and how that example can impact a person. Abraham Lincoln once said "There is just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go, and this is to travel that way yourself."
4. Point your kids to Christ, not yourself. Throughout this letter we can see Paul pointing Timothy to Christ, not to himself. The hero is not Paul, it is Christ; all the focus was on Jesus. Read 2 Timonthy 1:1, 8; 2:1, 8. It was all about Jesus! There is no need to pretend we are perfect. Christ is the Savior, not us.
5. Every child needs to hear this message from their father. "I believe in you. I am confident in you. I am proud of you. By God's grace, you can do it." The whole premise of the letter was based on Paul's belief "Timothy, you're the pastor of the church in Ephesus. You're the leader. Lead on." Read 2 Timothy 4:1-5. Paul is telling his that he is the man and that God has equipped him for the task.


Discussion Questions
1. Think about this quote and discuss. "As a child I watched with fascination as my Dad prayed in church. His prayers were different from so many others. They were real. He seemed to believe he was really talking to someone. That made an enduring impression on me. I didn't want to settle for shallow pleasure when contact with God was possible. I could imagine reality because I tasted it in Dad's relationship with God." - Larry Crabb.
2. How often to you encourage or edify your children? Do they hear you say "I'm proud of you. I believe in you." Are there hurts in your own life from not hearing those words from your own father?
3. What kind of life do you want your kids to live as they grow older? Are you modeling that for them today?