1 Timothy 5:1-16

Be Still: Father, thank you that I am your child. Please open the eyes of my heart this morning and reveal to me the secrets of heaven. Amen

Read: 1 Timothy 5:1-16 

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 

(v1–2)

Encounter: I love the intergenerational nature of the church. As someone who lives in a city that I didn’t grow up in, and whose natural family isn’t on hand, it’s great to have surrogate mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and even grandparents! It’s one of the things which makes the church stand out in today’s modern culture, a community of people who are wildly different ages, come from different backgrounds, speak different languages and sometimes have very little in common. And yet, because of the work of Jesus on the Cross and the work of the Spirit in us, we’re family!

Paul’s call to Timothy in this passage is to act like it! Church is not an event that we attend, it’s a family that we belong to. That means that we love and respect one another; it means that we take responsibility for each other; it means that we serve, defend, protect and provide for our spiritual family just like we would our natural family. When you stop to think about it, it’s a bit bonkers! 

Apply: Do you have friends at church who are different ages to you? If not, it might be time to get some! Can you think of a couple of people you’ve met at church that you could intentionally start to invest in? If you already have intergenerational friends….great! Pick up the phone and send them an encouragement, invite them round for dinner or simply pray for them this morning. 

Devote: Thank you Jesus that you saved me into a family. Please help me to be a good friend to the people that you’ve put in my life.