Maybe you’ve heard the story about what some of the unbelievers were saying about Christians during the time of Roman persecution.
“See how they love one another.”
They were confused by some of the things that Christians believed, but they couldn’t deny their compassion.
That’s one of the neatest things about being in God’s family: people who genuinely, deeply, selflessly care about one another.
Apparently, this attitude was embodied in Timothy, Paul’s protégé in ministry. Read carefully what Paul wrote about him:
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also (Philippians 2:19-24).
I love this statement: He “will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.”
Paul wasn’t one to flatter, so Timothy’s compassion must’ve been real. He could be trusted completely. Paul didn’t have to worry about any kind of personal agenda or self-promotion.
He genuinely cared.
Really, that’s what the church is, isn’t it?
In a dog-eat-dog world where people are often viewed as little more than stepping stones on an upward career path, the church is refreshing.
In a culture where so many relationships are guided more by “What can I get out of it?” than by true love, real selflessness is impressive.
Like Timothy, Christians are “genuinely concerned” for one another’s welfare. They feel pain when someone else hurts, and they smile when a fellow Christian rejoices.
I think that’s what’ll make our evangelistic efforts work. People don’t know—and don’t care—what we believe about various doctrines, but they’ll notice the compassion.
“See how they love one another.”
Churches full of Timothys are still doing God’s work.
—Chuck
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