Reflecting Christ
Philippians 2:19-24.
19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. 20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. 21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. 22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. 23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. 24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
Scholars see this passage in two different ways. Some (e.g. Ben Witherington) say that Paul has just talked about imitating Christ and then gives an example in Timothy of someone whose life seems to do just that. Others (e.g. Charles Wanamaker) see this passage as Paul recommending Timothy to the Philippians – essentially giving him a good reference so that the Philippians will welcome him when he visits them, just like they would welcome Paul himself. Either way, we can learn from what Paul says about his “dear son in the faith”.
Paul commends Timothy for his genuine care and concern for others, for focusing on what matters to Christ rather than focusing on himself, and for serving Paul with the devotion of a son serving a father as they preached the gospel together.
I think asking ourselves questions along these lines can be helpful in transforming our lives to imitate Christ better. I encourage us all to ask ourselves:
- What sort of example am I for others around me?
- In what parts of my life am I imitating Christ, and, more importantly, where do I need to change to reflect Him better?
- Do I genuinely care more for what matters to Christ than for myself?
- Am I (like Timothy) devotedly supporting my leaders as they work for the gospel?
As we ask ourselves these questions then invite the Holy Spirit to work in us so that our lives do imitate Christ’s humility and compassion.
Lord Jesus, please show me where I need to change and work in me to bring about those changes so that my life reflects you. Help me be humble, care about others more than myself, and serve faithfully, as Timothy did. Amen
Written by Megan Cornell