Showing Up and Hanging In
"Timothy, my son whom I love,
is faithful in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)
My sacred echo for the last two weeks has been the word "faithful,” perhaps because I have felt so faithless over the last month. Two out of state speaking engagements, a precious new grandbaby, Flower Guild duty, and teaching a women’s Sunday School class have left me declining some routine volunteer commitments that include teaching Vacation Bible School this summer. Some of my relationships have also suffered as I’ve been unable to meet a dear friend for coffee, celebrate my cousin’s birthday, or schedule good friends for dinner. Relationships are important, but require time and attention to maintain them.
I hate the word “busy” as an excuse for failing to do good things that should to be done. Elisabeth Elliot once wisely noted, “There is always enough time to do the will of God.” But I’ve experienced enough life to recognize that some life seasons are busier than others and are best described as tyranny of the urgent. “She did what she could” (Mark 14:8) has been my life verse for almost forty years and during this current life season, I am repeatedly leaning into Jesus’ words for disciplining my emotions and doing my next thing whether it’s caregiving, carpooling, or teaching.
There are many descriptions of Timothy in the New Testament. Some words that come to mind are "young, sickly, and fearful" (1 Timothy 4:11,5:23; 2 Timothy 1:7). One commentator even described Timothy as "more prone to lean, than lead." Yet something about his life caused the Apostle Paul to not only lead Timothy, but also lean on him as Paul himself faced his impending death.
I once compiled a list of all the different people who are specifically mentioned by name as having had contact with Paul in the New Testament. Throughout Romans and the other Pauline epistles, over 80 different individuals are recorded by name. Of all those people, why did Paul choose Timothy as his successor and entrust him with his gospel ministry? Paul's description of Timothy in today's verse gives us the answer: Timothy was faithful.
Margaret Guenther, writing in her book The Practice of Prayer, describes Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk who practiced the presence of God as he performed his work in the kitchen, as "a hero of the ordinary." Guenther goes on to say: "Faithfulness rarely feels heroic; it feels much more like showing up and hanging in. It is a matter of going to our cell, whatever form that might take, and letting it teach us what it will. Availing himself (Brother Lawrence) to consistent faithfulness yielded the blessing of both proficiency and presence—the presence of God right there in midst of the monotony of dirty pots and pans."
Faithfulness- showing up and hanging in- on focusing and finishing whatever the task is at hand. Faithfulness in honoring a marriage commitment; in raising children and grandchildren; in caring for aging parents, in serving the Body of Christ, in friendships, or giving your best in a difficult job situation. Faithfulness in competing the task at hand.
Paul recognized faithfulness in Timothy's life and character. Timothy obviously lived up to Paul's expectations as a faithful servant and minister of the Gospel. He didn't drop the baton when it was handed to him. He did what Paul commanded, "The things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:2) In the end, Timothy guarded the Gospel; suffered for the Gospel; continued in the Gospel; and preached the Gospel. He finished faithfully.
In this busy life season, I am praying that I too will show up and hang in faithfully for whatever task is at hand remembering the important lesson of Brother Lawrence: God is with us! The presence of God is right here in the middle of pots and pans; caregiving and carpools.