I help teach a membership class at my church about once a quarter to those interested in learning more about what we believe and what it means to be a member of a local church. When you join a local church, you commit to a group of people and ask them to become your people, and you promise to become theirs. We ask our new members to stand up in front of the congregation and make that pledge to strangers and friends, people who look like them and people who don’t, people who make way more money and those who make a lot less, people that have lived many more decades and the littlest children that call our church home.
The beauty of the church is in that diversity. It’s in the equality we all share because of the work of Jesus to reconcile us all to each other and to God. And one of the most beautiful charges of the church is to love each other as a picture of how God loves us.
In 1 Timothy 5, Paul gives the young Timothy a list of helpful ways to serve the various people in his church. These are the kind but strong words of a much more experienced leader, encouraging his protégé to lead his people in love and service. Paul discusses three groups of people: church groups by age, genuine widows, and younger widows.
First, Paul tells Timothy to honor the older men as fathers, the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters. What a beautiful posture of humility and kindness Paul describes here!
Second, Paul explains how the church should care for “genuine” widows, which he describes as those with no family to take care of them and those who have shown their love for God through prayer and service. We’ll unpack the distinction with “younger widows” in just a minute, but this theme of caring for widows stretches like a red thread all the way through the Bible. You can read about God’s prioritization of and care for widows in Exodus 22, Deuteronomy 24, Psalm 68, Isaiah 1, Acts 6, James 1, and more. Part of the reason for this was cultural; women whose husbands had died (particularly those without children) had no stature in society, no means for economic security, and no rights. And so God who loves the least of these always wants His people to love them too, with words and with actions.
Third, Paul reminds Timothy about “young widows” or those otherwise disqualified from the church aid, including those with families or those who wanted to remarry. This isn’t an exclusionary list of those who were or were not worthy of love or care; rather, it was a helpful instruction for a young pastor trying to establish healthy boundaries for his congregation and resources. God’s commitment to his people, all of whom are made in His image, is deeply woven throughout this text and all of Scripture.
This text reminds us what it means to be part of the family of God and part of its expression in the local church. We are bound together by a love for the Lord, and are compelled by that love to love each other in word and deed. Because of His great love for us, we are able to love fully and give freely to all in need.
@Stephanie G, I keep The Bible Project open in a tab next to my SRT tab! It’s been so hopeful with several passages I have done with SRT.
Also, HRT devo today is worth a read! “The broader application of this passage is that the church is called to care for its own, to get to know one another well enough to be able to recognize real needs, and generous enough that we are able to respond to those needs.”
A timely read right after Mother’s Day. My husband and firstborn are out of town for a beloved Grandmother’s memorial service half way across the country. We couldn’t take all 6, so we made the decision to send him and our son. Both my FIL and MIL lost their precious mothers within 6 months of each other, and this road trip would take them through my FIL hometown on the way to my MIL hometown and the long awaited memorial service with family they haven’t seen in many years. My husband and son are with them on the road trip and as I woke up in self pity at having to “single mom” my own Mother’s Day, the Holy Spirit reminded me what a gift if was for them to be together as they arrived in my FIL hometown and for my MIL to have not only a grown son, but a beloved grandson to bring joy on what was probably a hard day. And it gave me and my 2 girls (ages 8 and 6) the opportunity to hand deliver flowers and hand written cards to 9 of our new neighbors that are women of all ages and stages of motherhood. The joy of watching my girls take ownership of showering others in honor and blessing and receive such kind and beautiful affirmation from each neighbor was a gift for this Mama’s heart I can’t even describe. What a joy to be able to walk them through the gift of giving with no expectation of return. I went to be in tears of joy at what a Mother’s Day that I was anticipating being a wash this year due to the circumstances. God, you love so deeply and so uniquely each heart that yearns for you. We don’t deserve any of it, and sometimes it’s too hard to take it all in. I am praying for those of you who are finding it hard to honor mother’s of all kinds in your life, and to care for them in their need. May we all trust in the LORD with this tough book, and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways, may we acknowledge Him and see Him make our paths straighten!
Stephanie, my heart goes out to you. So thankful that you have such a strong church family that God is using to help meet your needs.
As for the qualifiers in this passage, I found the Bible Project video on YouTube for 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy helpful in reminding me that this is a letter directed at a specific church and it’s struggles. There were wealthy young widows in Ephesus abusing the church’s outreach and using resources that were needed more by those widows completely without support.
I agree Tricia and others that the point seems to be to take care of those in need.
It’s so good when things we read in Scripture hit us funny, as that (hopefully) causes us to dig deeper into Scripture for a better understanding. I believe that the Bible is the true and inerrant word of God and that while there are obviously cultural nuances that we take into account, the message is unchanged. Therefore, if there is something I read that I don’t like, I have to assume that the problem is with me (either in a lack of knowledge/understanding or perhaps a lack of humility) and not with God’s word. This is challenging and comforting all at the same time.
Amen Jennifer Loves Jesus!
We are strong women, but we are the strongest in our TRUST in our Creator!
Prayers for you @Taylor. Don’t be too hard on yourself, repent and get back in line with God. Sometimes we tend to repeat that same sin that the devil knows is our weakness. I did many times as I was also in Church and small group- But I would slip. Hugs.
This is a confusing read for me I need to dig deeper to fully understand.
Reading the comments I was thinking that maybe it is our worldly view that makes us think these passages are sexist. And this is coming from someone that has a very strong personality. Doesn’t God know best? Don’t we want to trust Him? Know that He desires the best for us. This is from Jennifer Loves Jesus, But life becomes brilliant when we allow ourselves to be broken. Wild and unbroken may look strong and free, but for what? There is a tying of purpose, bridling trust, and allowing ourselves to carry the Holy Spirit when we come to know that Jesus fulfills the first purpose of our lives. We will do amazing things with God. Let us trust that God knows best. That submission does not mean being a doormat. It means trusting God with our lives.