“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus. I am writing to Timothy, my dear son. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.”
2 Timothy 1:1-2 NLT
As Paul begins this letter, he makes a clear statement of his relationship with Jesus, the gospel and Timothy. Firstly, Paul is a chosen apostle of Jesus. He has a mission and that mission is to share the Gospel of Jesus. This gospel is one that brings people into grace, mercy and peace. He is to serve its purpose by spreading it. Lastly, this has led him into a relationship with Timothy that is adoptive. Just as God adopted us, Paul adopted Timothy. He notes he is his spiritual son. To that end, he will use this letter to talk about his legacy of service to Jesus and the gospel and advise him tactically on its spread. This is a picture of what mentorship and discipleship should look like. There should be a tactical relationship that advances the gospel. This relationship isn’t merely about creating our replacement, but instead is about finding our spiritual sons, daughters, mothers and fathers with whom we can join in God’s legacy and mission. We need to be clear and bold in this. This is a far cry from modern calls to discipleship which often amount to a once a month meeting over a passage of scripture and some counseling. We must join with each other in tactically sharing the gospel and in restoring God’s concept of legacy.
JOSH McGARY. COM 