It’s Relationships, Not Programs

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also , (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

Though it is not the last of Paul’s letters in our Bibles, 2 Timothy is the last letter the apostle wrote. He wrote it during his second incarceration in Rome, knowing that this incarceration would end with his execution.

Timothy was a young pastor in the church in Ephesus. He was a protégé of Paul, a spiritual son. We could say that they had a mentor-mentee relationship. In this letter we have Paul’s final thoughts to a young man who was especially important to him.

In the second chapter of the letter Paul points Timothy to the source of strength for his life. He does not tell Timothy to look within himself. He does not tell Timothy what so many people say, something like, “We all have a source of strength deep within us.  Reach down and tap into it. You will find it. Then you will have the strength to get you through.” Rather, Paul points Timothy outside of himself to the grace of God in Christ Jesus. “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (verse 1).

When we try to live life by looking inside ourselves for strength, we are setting ourselves up for a fall. We don’t have what it takes. Paul says, Timothy, look to Jesus and his grace for your strength. It is in relationship with Jesus, and in dependence on him, that we grow strong. First and foremost, seek Jesus. Use all the means that he provides—prayer, the word, sacraments, fellowship with other believers—to encourage your growth with Jesus. Know that strength must come from him.

Next, he encourages Timothy to invest in other people. In the same way that Paul invested in him Timothy needed to invest in others. “What you have heard from me, Timothy, entrust those things to faithful men,” (verse 2).

Metanoia is a good program. It’s valued by the officials at the prison. That’s why we were the first ministry they reached out to about coming back. But, it’s not the program that changes lives. It’s one man investing the gospel and his life into another man that brings about lasting change.

In his book The Second Mountain, David Brooks quoted a friend who said, “I’ve never seen a program turn around lives. Only relationships turn around lives.” Your relationship investing in the life of your mentee is producing transformation now, in both your mentee and in you. And it will also produce eternal rewards in the future.

We need to seek strength not from inside ourselves but from grace through Christ. Seek Christ, with all the means that he provides.  We need to point our mentees to seek strength for themselves from grace through Christ.

We also need to continue our investment in the lives of our mentees, encouraging and equipping them with the gospel. And, along with that, we need to encourage them to take what they learn from us and invest those things in others.

Much love, Barry