Teach With Your Life

I read: 1 Timothy

There's a whole ton of great stuff in 1 Tim. 4 but I want to look at what is probably the most common verse in all of youth ministry, 1 Timothy 4:12, translated here as: "And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity." The NIV translates it as, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." Not a whole lot of difference here except for one phrase: "set an example" v. "teach . . . with your life."

I love the idea of setting an example, of teaching with our lives. It's an absolutely enormous burden to bear but if we're not willing to shoulder it, we don't belong in ministry to begin with. And like any burden, it's one that Christ willingly takes on himself when we let him. It's at once the easiest and hardest thing we do in youth ministry, just living our daily lives.

How do we allow Christ to bear this burden for us? That's rather simple/difficult too. I know I haven't been even close to regular with the dLog (i.e. last weekend), but I have felt the power of daily reading and reflection when I've done it. And that's the first step: opening yourself up to the change. If you haven't noticed, the dLog has a new tagline from 1 Tim. 4:8: "Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever." I think that's a great example of why and how we are doing this project and why it's so important. (Joel: Ben and I voted on changing it and 2/3 was a majority. Don't worry, Bunogo! was a close second!)

If you have anything resembling an open heart, eyes to read, and a brain to process, there's no way that you can read God's words and not be convicted by all manner of life-shaping ideas and themes. The more we do that, the more Christ-like we become. As more of us is pruned off and more of Jesus is grafted on, setting that example isn't even a thought any more, we're walking in the "unforced rhythms of grace" as Peterson puts it so well. It's then Christ doing the heavy lifting of us and all we have to do is enjoy the ride.