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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.

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