A Mentor

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. (Acts 16:1 NIV)

My parents had what was considered a “mixed marriage” back in their day.  Mom was Protestant.  Dad was Catholic.  Mom’s side of the family had problems with dad being Catholic.  The Catholic Church had problems with mom being Protestant.  They got married anyway.

My parents’ situation was similar to that of Timothy’s parents.  Timothy’s mom was Jewish.  Dad was Greek, which carries with it a wide range of possibilities.  He could be anywhere from atheist to polytheistic.  Timothy grew up in their “mixed” household.

The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. (Acts 16:2-3 NIV)

When I grew up in Cincinnati, I knew the “secret handshake” among Roman Catholics.  When we met somebody new, we would ask, “What High School did you go to?”  When they answered, it told us if they were Catholic or not.  If they were, we could follow up with, “What parish are you from?”  Our friendship was immediately sealed and trust was immediately given.  That person was one of us.

Paul understood a similar “secret handshake” in his day.  When speaking to a Jewish audience, he had to used Jewish terms and make sure they would trust him as another Jew.  Timothy, however, would bring doubt into their relationship, though.  His father was Greek.  This is why Paul had Timothy circumcised.  It would help the Jewish audience trust them more as they came to teach.

As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. (Acts 16:4 NIV)

Paul was mentoring Timothy.  He was helping Timothy learn how to get an ear with a Jewish audience.  This got them into several churches in various towns.  It also earned them the right to speak to those churches.  Ironically, though, they were travelling from town to town to tell Christians that they didn’t have to be circumcised to be a Christ-follower.  The Old Covenant had passed away.  The Churches would never have listened to this decision, though, if they didn’t trust in the Jewish heritage of both Paul and Timothy.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (Acts 16:5 NIV)

How about you?  Have you learned how to live out your faith with different audiences?  Did you have someone help you learn how to do this?  Do you have a mentor?