Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
1 Timothy 4:15 NIV
Are you growing in your faith and service to our Lord? And is your growth visible to those around you? Or is your faith and service unchanging, stuck where it has been for years? Or even decades?
Timothy had spent many years traveling with Paul. That would surely have been a time of growth in Timothy’s life and faith as he listened to Paul preach and teach and saw him carry out his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13). And, as the years went on, Paul entrusted Timothy with ever greater responsibilities, first as an emissary (1 Cor. 4:17) and then to provide leadership for the church at Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3-4).
It would be tempting to think that Timothy would have been fully mature and developed as a believer and church leader by this time. But he still had room to grow. And Paul encouraged him to diligently carry out the instructions he had given him in this letter. If he did, he would continue to develop and mature. And his progress in the faith would be obvious to everyone in the church at Ephesus.
Paul’s encouragement to Timothy in this verse should be a challenge to each of us today. To be diligent in our development as believers, never satisfied with where we are, but always looking to grow and be more effective in serving our Lord. Our growth as believers should be evident to others around us. And our progress should encourage other believers to grow in their walk with our Lord.
