I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon. Philippians 2:19 (NIV)
Put yourself in Timothy’s shoes: he has become the assistant to the Apostle Paul. After years of travel, moving from one place to another, they have finally made it to Rome. Paul is in prison, but Timothy is free.
If you think about it, living in Rome as a personal assistant to the Apostle Paul wasn’t a bad ministry position to have. It probably wasn’t as nice as staying in a Hilton hotel, but circumstances in the past had been far worse for Timothy. Being settled is better than being on the road; being in the great city of Rome is better than eking it out in provincial Philippi; and being with Paul is better than being on your own. Besides, Timothy got to be with Paul while he wrote Scripture! Timothy has every reason for wanting to stay in Rome.
If you’re not familiar with the story, the journey to Rome had been an absolute nightmare (see Acts 27-28). It took months for them to get there, including a shipwreck. Now Paul wants Timothy to go all the way back to Philippi.
A lesser person would have said, “Paul, I know you need somebody to go to Philippi, but I’d rather stay here with you.” In fact, that’s probably what others on Paul’s team did say. After all, who wants to risk life and limb and go through weeks of travel to visit a small church in Philippi, when you could stay in Rome as the personal assistant to the Apostle Paul?
But Timothy cared about the church more than his own experience. That was unusual then, and it is unusual today. That’s why Paul said he did not have anyone else quite like this. The good of the church was more important than his own comfort or preferences.
Talk to God about how your own comfort or preferences could be standing in the way of you caring for the church.
