True to form, Paul begins his second letter to Timothy with a brief statement of thanksgiving. This is fairly typical of Paul’s writings. He makes a point to bring thanksgiving to God to the table in everything he does. This letter is no different.
You can see his statement of thankfulness in 2 Timothy 1:3-5:
Thankfulness is an attitude that has suffered in our culture in recent years. We’ve opted for a sense of entitlement and superiority, instead of gratitude thanksgiving. This is unfortunate, because the Bible has much to say on the topic of being thankful. It’s often very obvious, such as 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
But much of what the New Testament, and especially the writings of Paul, has to say about being thankful seems to slip past us without being noticed. That’s because a lot of it is found in the greetings of his letters, which we sort of gloss over. After all, it’s just a greeting, right?
There is a lot of theology packed into Paul’s greetings. Remember the deep theology we unpacked in 1 Timothy 1:1-2, Paul’s first greeting to Timothy? There was a lot there, and his greeting to Timothy in the second letter is no different.
Paul is thankful. For what? It’s unclear exactly what Paul is thankful for, because he doesn’t explicitly state what he is thankful for in this passage. However, from what he does say, we can infer that he is thankful in at least two areas.
First, he is thankful for his own godly ancestry. The God he now serves is the same God that he has been taught to serve throughout his entire life, especially his training as a Jew. Wait… what? Yes. Paul is thankful for his heritage and training as a Jew. It taught him how to serve his God. Even though his life has taken a drastically different route than anyone expected, his godly training, as Saul, holds immense value to how he serves God now as Paul, an apostle.
His parents did not raise him as a Christian. They taught him to be a Jew, and his tutorship under Gamaliel ensured that he was headed for a prominent place in the Jewish ruling council. However, all those years, he had misunderstood the Scriptures, persecuted the church, and missed the point entirely.
When he was converted on the road to Damascus, he did not need to abandon his God. He simply came to understand him in a more complete light. In fact, he argued that Christianity was simply the fulfillment of what God promised his ancestors (Acts 26:6). Paul is thankful that his training in faith, from his forefathers, resulted in his ability to understand the Scriptures more completely.
Second, we can see that Paul is thankful for Timothy. He states that he constantly remembers Timothy in his prayers. When Paul lifts his needs to God, those prayers include Timothy. Paul is thankful for him as a part of God’s family; but I’m sure he feels a special closeness, because he called Timothy his “son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2).
His thankfulness for Timothy is demonstrated in three ways in the next part of this passage.
Paul remembers Timothy’s tears
Apparently, the last time Paul saw Timothy, the parting was bittersweet. But Paul anticipates a reunion filled with joy. If Paul’s relationship with Timothy was as close as many suspect it to be, his love for Timothy would have been similar to that of a father for his son. I know that if one of my sons were separated from me, I would anticipate being reunited with joy. It would be something I would lift up in my prayers on a daily basis.
Tears and emotions were expressed more freely among men in Paul’s culture. Here, he could be referring to his departure from Ephesus in Acts 20:37. Others suggest that this refers to when Paul left Timothy in Ephesus on his way to Macedonia (1 Timothy 1:3). While either is possible, the second is the most likely occurrence. Either way, Paul is longing to seeing Timothy again.
Paul remembers Timothy’s sincere faith
Paul describes Timothy’s faith as a genuine, unhypocritical, sincere faith. This isn’t simple lip service; Timothy’s faith is the real thing. Quite possibly, something has happened that reminded Paul of Timothy’s faith. Remember, Paul is in prison, is facing a looming execution, and is lonely. One of his main comforts is found in reviewing his life, and remembering the impact his life has had on others for the kingdom of God.
Could this be said of us? Are people reminded of our faith when things happen to them? Do our lives have such a spiritual impact upon those we come into contact with? I don’t want to be remembered for my faults; I want to be remembered for my strengths. And I don’t want to remember the faults of others; I want to remember their strengths.
Paul remembers Timothy’s spiritual heritage
Paul mentioned his own godly ancestry. But here he mentions Timothy’s as well. This faith that Timothy now holds was first held by his grandmother, Lois, and by his mother, Eunice. This could mean two different things. It could mean that Lois and Eunice were Christians, possibly even converted at Pentecost or maybe when Paul came to Lystra. If so, then they instilled their faith in Timothy, encouraging him in his relationship with Christ.
Because of Acts 16:1, I believe this to be the case, but, in light of Paul’s reference to his own godly heritage, it’s entirely possible that Eunice and Lois were not Christians, or at least not yet, but simply godly Jewish women who trained and taught Timothy the Old Testament. This teaching would have been solid and complete, up to the point of Christ being the Messiah. Paul and Barnabas brought the Jewish faith to its logical conclusion by proclaiming that Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.
Either way, Paul is thankful for the spiritual faithfulness of this family. He is convinced that Timothy is a product of this godly heritage, and that this faith is alive and well in Timothy.
As we can see, Paul expresses a lot of thanksgiving in this brief passage. And with his statement that this heritage of faith now lives in Timothy, he springs into the main thrust of the letter. Most of the rest of 2 Timothy is an encouragement to Timothy to remain steadfast and loyal to his faith in Christ as a minister. Some moral stiffening and encouragement is needed, and Paul is ready and willing to impart this, especially as he senses his time may be limited.
How are you doing in the area of thankfulness? What do you do to remind yourself to be thankful? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.