Dear church,

This passage has personal meaning for me. I suppose, as a pastor, I like the direct instructions Paul had for Timothy.

“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. … Practice these things, immerse yourself in them. … Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.”

Timothy was to devote himself to the ministry of the Word. He was to exercise his spiritual gift (whatever that was), and he was to mind how he lived his life. That is, he was supposed to live a life of Christian virtue, as an example for the church.

This is a good reminder for me, as a pastor, to do the things that Paul was calling Timothy to do.

There are good lessons here for the church, as well, regardless of the vocational calling of any given member.

First, Paul puts a primacy on the reading of God’s Word. The Bible should find its way into our daily lives. We need to read it and to hear it read publicly.

Second, we ought to find people whom we can model our lives after in the way we speak and conduct ourselves. Timothy was to show the church the way to live, and we ought to have Christian men and women from which we can learn.

Third, we ought not to neglect the spiritual gifts we’ve been given. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? And if so, how are you using them?

Chris