May 1 - Defining Moments

May 1 - Defining Moments - 1 Timothy 1:1-2/2 Timothy 1:1-2

During the month of May I've asked Rebecca Bauman to write with me. I've known her for a couple of years online and she writes with freedom of spirit that is exciting! I will do a little bit of historical perspective and then let her run loose with the text. Enjoy!

Paul wrote these letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus after he had been imprisoned in Rome. When Luke ends the story in Acts, we actually know very little of the rest of Paul's life, but there are some other sources that are used to clarify dates and probabilities. This letter would have been written to Timothy between 61-63 AD, before Nero torched Rome (64 AD) and before the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed (70 AD). He, Timothy and Titus had been close friends for many years. His writing style is different in these letters from the epistles that he sent to churches, probably because of the close relationship that he had with those men.

Now ... here's Rebecca with some thoughts of her own!

Well I am very excited to get to know all of you through the blog this month. Diane and I have very different writing styles, I tell her often she is the meat to my potatoes, so hopefully there are some potato lovers out there and you will enjoy this collaboration and benefit from it in some small way. Now, onto Timothy...

I moved eight times in four years of high school and went to four different schools in three different states. Now, while that might seem bad, I loved it. Each year I started with a fresh slate and had the chance to recreate myself.

That transformation ranged from the quintessential 80’s new waver to the conservative church girl. I danced a little bit with the theatre crew and relaxed quite easily into the goofy girl that liked to make people laugh.

I share that with you to illustrate that it is easy in this world to become whatever we have a whim to become, to flit in and out of roles. We change our personalities and characteristics as quickly as we add and delete information in our online 'about me' profiles. But rarely do they touch who we really are.

I was a wobbly teenager and I remain wobbly today. I am 39 and have only begun to uncover who I really am. I guess that is why I am so moved by the first verse in Timothy, because in a few words it says so much: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.”

"Paul - an apostle of Christ." Five simple, but powerful words. Paul knew exactly who he was. He had experienced such a powerful metamorphosis that it didn't merely change his name, it changed his identity, his backbone, and the course of his life. Paul knew beyond a shadow of a doubt who he was and because he allowed the Author of perfection to give him his identity, he lived and wrote with power.

I am left to wonder after reading this first verse if that is the reason there was very little wobble in his walk. He had a clear and defined understanding of his role in the story.

Now, if I was an apostle, my pride and arrogance would probably send me to the local Kinkos to print business cards with my new 'title,' especially if my former cards had 'persecutor and murderer' as my tag line. But, Paul had no ego involved. He knew clearly that his title and power were there "by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope." There is no room for ego or pride when you understand that the only line drawn between apostle and persecutor is the command of God. His call is what holds you up, and His command is what enables you to say and speak and do and live the life you are now living. "There but by the grace of God go I" was not just a phrase to Paul, it was his truth.

For most of my life I spent so much time trying to define myself that I was of little use to God because my world was internally focused. What I discover from this passage in Timothy is that when I let God be the Creator and Author of my life, suddenly I am just a character in the story with a role that was formed by His magnificent hand. And when I am no longer the author but His creation, then I can see the world and the people around me from His perspective.

Paul confidently called Timothy his 'true son in the faith,' not because that was the role Paul wrote for him but because he could clearly see it was the role God had written for him. Paul was able to see this because his eyes were no longer turned inward. Maybe that’s why he stayed blind for those days - God had to realign his focus to make him useful.

There are times we all feel a blindsided and find ourselves groping around in the world trying to find our way. But perhaps it is because we are experiencing a Saul moment, where the pen is taken out of our hand and placed back into our Lord's, and He is busy realigning our focus. Then we might come to a place where we are strong enough to ask Him, "Who am I God and what is it you want me to do by your command?"

Maybe if we let Him tell us, and allow Him to whisper into our soul who He has called us to be, we will finally see our fellow man for who they really are and understand that they are more than just people. Some of them might be our true sons and daughters in the faith!