Skip to main content

In My Shadow


Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (I Timothy 1:1-2) 

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”  On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (I Corinthians 12:21-26) 

          Timothy, son of Lois, grandson of Eunice, spiritual son of Paul, and best known for needing to be encouraged to do the hard work left to him. I wonder if Paul could have sung Bette Midler’s tune to him:
It must have been cold there in my shadow,
to never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.
                                                                (Bette Midler, “Wind Beneath My Wings”)
          For the introverts among us, being in the shadows can be a good thing. I would much rather work in the background. Let me stay behind the camera, behind the computer, behind the book…. As someone who would rather be invisible, I can relate to Timothy. It would have been really hard to step into the roles that Paul gave him – roles that had been Paul’s.
          Paul reminded him not to discount himself because he was young (I Timothy 4:11.) It seems to me that I’ve spent most of my life in the company of people who were significantly older than I. I’ve been blessed by that company, but I know how it feels when the people around you seem to have the attitude that “someday, you’ll grow up” and “you’ll understand when you get to our age.”
          Chances are that you’ve felt the same way at least a time or two, the one who doesn’t matter, the gofer, the invisible person given the tough jobs while someone else stands in the spotlight. Timothy was left in Ephesus. Remember Ephesus, with the goddess, Artemis as the number one tourist attraction and lots of powerful businessmen who didn’t want Paul and this new religion interfering with their profit margins? It’s sometimes easy to think that Timothy was a bit of a wimp, whining about his struggles while Paul was the superstar. 
          I’m not saying that we should not honor Paul. I’m not saying that Paul didn’t earn the honor he is due. But notice what Paul says about the people in the shadows. You aren’t forgotten. You have value. You have purpose: love and truth. You are indispensable. God designed the Church with you in mind, too.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more