Paul wanted Timothy to remember and build his life around Jesus Christ. So who is Jesus? A moral teacher? A prophet? A legend? And why does it matter? Those answers formed the core of Christianity then, and they still form the core of our faith today.

In our culture, we desire autonomy, and self-determination and self-reliance are some of our highest ideals. But eventually, every man comes to the end of himself. When you find yourself drowning, what’s your next move? And importantly, what is God’s?

Jesus told the disciples it’s not that men don’t want to meet Him. It’s that there aren’t enough men to make a credible introduction. In Paul’s plan for Timothy to safeguard and spread the gospel of Jesus, we see how we are entrusted to make the connection.

Recently I visited an 82-year-old friend from the past. He was feeling low. When we finally got down to why, it was this: he had lost his sense of purpose. How does that happen, and how can we make sure it doesn’t happen to us? He had run out of “spiritual oxygen.”

While in chains, Paul wrote to Timothy about men turning their backs on him. But he also reminded him of the power of having a true friend in hard times. How do we leave fair-weather friendship behind, and why is it critical to our lives as disciples?

Paul recognizes in his letter the faith of Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Who’s missing? His father. And so Paul became his spiritual father. Just as Paul did for Timothy, we, too, are called to stand in the gap for young men who need a spiritual father. But how?