Teacher or Mother?

 



 "For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church." (1 Corinthians 4:15-17)

In these verses, we see three distinct roles: the Guides (co-workers like Apollos and Cephas), the Father (Paul), and the Child/Imitator (Timothy).

Paul points out a profound truth: there are many teachers and helpers in the world, but it is rare to find a father. There is a vast difference between a teacher and a parent. A teacher shares information, but a parent shepherds with unconditional love. A spiritual father or mother loves their people "anyway"—they accept them anyway, they stay with them anyway, and they care for them anyway.

Timothy became a "reminder" of Paul’s life because he was an imitator. This is the true way to make disciples: not through lectures, but through a life lived in love.

Prayer: Lord, let me be a mother to the people You have entrusted to me. Give me the grace to love them anyway, accept them anyway, and care for them anyway as their spiritual mother. Let me be Your imitator first, so that I might one day say with Paul’s confidence, "Be imitators of me!"

I know that revival does not come from my own strength; revival is Your work. My only desire is to be an imitator of Christ.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

   

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