Timothy
faced his demons like you and I must face ours.
Timothy was the Apostle Paul’s protégé.
He was a very young man and Paul took time to strengthen this timid
fledgling of a pastor. It’s not hard to
figure out that the older folks in Tim’s church was what made the preacher a
little nervous. Paul told him not to let
that get in the way of being a good example to the flock (1 Timothy 4:12).
Everyone
needs a Paul! I had Pat. Pat Giffin was a mentor to me when I was a
new pastor. Pat was blessed with the
kind of wisdom and pastoral gifts you cannot learn in seminary. I knew Pat for only the last four years of
his life. He was operating on less than
half of his heart’s abilities. Yet, with
death’s shadow dogging him, Pat was a man full of life and joy. Our Monday conversations were laced with his
laughter and corny jokes.
Pat
never told me I needed a sense of humor to be a pastor. (Although he did tell me Mondays would always
require learning a new joke – I guess that would be to counter the effects of
spiritual attack most pastors encounter after preaching). Pat offered little unasked-for advice, but
was ready to help you find your fears and face them. In the end he did that for me when he left
instructions with his bride, Martha, that I preach his funeral service.
The
little church was packed; there were as many standing outside as seated and
standing inside. At the end of the
service I led the procession around the small pond next to the church, as we
carried Pat to the cemetery. When
everyone was in place I was going to begin reading Scripture…and that’s when it
happened. The lightning flashed, thunder
crashed and a torrential Florida afternoon “frog-strangling” rain shortened the
graveside to thirty seconds. As everyone
scurried to the fellowship hall, I could have sworn on ten Bibles I heard Pat’s
Monday afternoon laughter in that thunder.
I
truly laughed out loud as I ran for shelter.
And in that moment I knew Pat had made his point – if God hasn’t given
us a spirit of fear, there’s really only one other choice!
I had a fear -- I was afraid I was going to laugh at the end of that one, and I did. Praise God for giving us laughter, as well as power, love, and self-discipline.
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