Living Someone Else’s Legacy While Leaving Our Own

As Paul wrote what might have been his last letter to Timothy (who Paul had been mentoring in faith and ministry), Paul reminded him about some things that Timothy already knew.

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

2 Timothy 3:10-11 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2ti.3.10-11.NIV

While the NIV translation of the Bible suggests that Timothy knew about Paul’s experiences, the NASB translation here suggests that Paul here confirms that Timothy has been following Paul’s good example. Regardless of the ideal interpretation of this passage in English, though, I am fairly confident that Timothy both knew and followed Paul’s pursuit of faith in Jesus Christ, as well as Paul’s passion for sharing the good news about Jesus with others.

In terms of Timothy’s (and other Christians’) role in passing along the truth about Jesus (and using Paul as an example of how to live for Jesus), we might be familiar with verses like 1 Corinthians 11:1, where Paul invited the recipients of that letter to imitate him as he tried to live like Christ. Similar passages include 1 Corinthians 4:14-17, where Paul sent Timothy to remind the Corinthian church about how Paul lived for Jesus. Here, Timothy helped reinforce to the church in Corinth about Paul’s example of living for Jesus, and how Paul’s life lived in Jesus matched Paul’s teaching about Jesus.

We could also look at 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, where Paul’s and others’ choice to work for their own food was an example for others to not be idle. In Hebrews 6:11-12, the author wants the recipients “…to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Later in Hebrews 13:7-8, not only are the recipients to imitate their leaders (after having observed what happened when those leaders lived the right way), but they are also reminded of the eternal consistency of Jesus Christ.

This legacy is so important: not just speaking the truth, but living it out. In fact, what better legacy is there than to have lived for Jesus and to find others doing the same thing as they live out their love for Jesus that they first saw in us?

Here, Paul’s legacy was already being lived out by Timothy. Let’s see what forms that took, though, as we consider what other examples of people who follow Jesus we should mirror in our own lives.

Paul’s teaching and “way of life” (or “conduct”) seem pretty straightforward. I think that we would expect Paul’s words and actions to be aligned with Jesus’ example and instructions: maybe not perfectly, but enough that Timothy could see where Paul was living like Jesus.
Paul’s purpose becomes clear through his writing: we find that he passionately desired for people to know the truth about Jesus. Timothy was carrying this same purpose forward, and while God might not call each of us to be preachers or teachers, I think that each of us who follow Jesus have a calling to preserve, promote, and proclaim the truth about Him, both in a lost world and within the church.
Paul’s “faith, patience, love, [and] endurance” seem like great qualities for Timothy to emulate. These sound like aspects of the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23), so Timothy would succeed best in living these out when Timothy had the same Holy Spirit of God that guided and supported Paul.

What are these last couple of ways that Timothy followed Paul in, though? Persecutions? Sufferings? What’s up with that? Paul explains more of this in the next couple of verses, but there’s enough to process here. You’re welcome (and encouraged) to keep reading through this chapter in your own Bible, though, before the next article is posted here.

From Sunday School lesson prepared for April 6, 2025

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