![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/05\/Untitled-design-2022-05-18T143112.597-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nToo many of us shrink back from ministry involvement because we tell ourselves we just don\u2019t have the right temperament. We hear of the fiery fisherman Peter or the bold apostle Paul and think, Hey, I\u2019m nothing like that. I could never get up in front of three people to speak, let alone a crowd. I\u2019ll leave ministry to the professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet God doesn\u2019t think this way. Consider Timothy \u201cExhibit A.\u201d Timothy grew up in a mixed home. While his Jewish mother became a Christian, his Greek father apparently never came to faith. It appears that both Timothy and his mother accepted Christ during Paul\u2019s first missionary journey when the apostle visited their hometown, Lystra. On Paul\u2019s second trip through the area, he took note of Timothy, a young man \u201cwell thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium\u201d (Acts 16:2). Paul and Timothy developed a close bond, and the apostle became the younger man\u2019s spiritual mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/06\/04-EMB-LP_4791-3_opt-4.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nFrom that time on, Timothy often accompanied Paul on his journeys, sometimes staying behind and sometimes working with others in \u201cadvance teams,\u201d paving the way for Paul\u2019s arrival (Acts 17:14; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4). Paul grew to love this young man as if he were his own flesh and blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He counted him a \u201cfellow worker\u201d (Romans 16:21) and \u201cbrother\u201d (2 Corinthians 1:1); but more than that, he thought of Timothy as \u201cmy dear son\u201d (2 Timothy 1:2), \u201cmy beloved and faithful child in the Lord\u201d (1 Corinthians 4:17) and \u201cmy true son in the faith\u201d (1 Timothy 1:2). And he could say, \u201cI have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. . . . Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News\u201d (Philippians 2:20, 22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/05\/EveryMansBibleExplorerBrown8107-7_Details_2214_3000px72dpi-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nYet Timothy was no Paul; Paul was an example and mentor for his son in the faith, but Timothy was not a mirror of Paul\u2019s strengths. Timothy struggled with fear and hesitation. So Paul admonished his timid prot\u00e9g\u00e9: \u201cGod has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don\u2019t be ashamed of me, either, even though I\u2019m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News\u201d (2 Timothy 1:7-8). The apostle instructed those who might be his hosts, \u201cWhen Timothy comes, don\u2019t intimidate him. . . . Don\u2019t let anyone treat him with contempt\u201d (1 Corinthians 16:10-11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Timothy proves that God can and does use all kinds of temperaments in ministry. The big question for each of us is this: Do I want him to use me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n