For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

2:20   For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

Our current topic is the young man Timothy, and his character as described by no less than the apostle Paul. The Philippians had encountered Timothy a number of times and yet Paul describes him to them as if they had never met.

Of had they? Timothy had been a young convert when he had joined Paul in Lystra, and one of the first stops on Paul’s journeys with Timothy was the city of Philippi. This Philippian church was a sort of baptism of ministry for Timothy, and his youthfulness in the Lord may have been evident. Note that Timothy was not in the prison with Paul and Silas, possibly implying that Timothy may have been more of an observer than active minister/leader amongst the apostles.

Since that initial contact with the church, Timothy had continued with Paul and Silas through Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth and back to Antioch. Missionary journeys had come and gone. Years passed and Timothy stuck it out with Paul, being sent to Corinth as Paul languished in prison, visiting the church and reporting back. Even early on, Timothy was gaining gracious reviews from Paul.

1 Corinthians 4:17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

By the time Timothy was being sent to the first church plant he had experienced, Timothy had become a very trusted disciple. Some suggest Timothy may have been with Paul for close to twelve years by the time he is sent back to Philippi. Twelve years under the tutelage of the apostle Paul. Obviously Timothy was not the same man. The Philippians may remember a young “wet behind the ears” convert, but the believer Paul was sending had matured and become a cherished helper of Paul, often being sent out in Paul’s absence.

Timothy was not the same man. Paul may have provided this description of Timothy to reintroduce him to the Philippians. Paul was not sending an inexperienced disciple from the fringes of his associates , but a man who had proven himself in the trenches of ministry.

Timothy had proven himself to be a man who naturally cared for the church, for those individuals in the church, and that gave of himself for the church. To care for believers was not in his job description, nor was it a task that had been assigned to him. His activities did not include among many items caring for believers as one of his responsibilities. Timothy cared for them in the same way he breathed. It was natural, involuntary, and consistent. It was natural for him to care. Paul was sending a man to the Philippians that he trusted and had blossomed as a disciple in front of Paul’s eyes.

A rare man!

Time with the apostle, meant time with a man of influence, under the Kingship of Jesus. Change had occurred, and Timothy had entered the life of change into the image of Christ.

Let me ask a question – If you met an old friend you hadn’t seen for a decade, would they meet a different person, a person influenced by the Christ, naturally caring for others?

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