LIFE SCRIPTS

1 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. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 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. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
Acts 16:1‭-‬5 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/act.16.1-5.NIV

Paul returned to Lystra to visit a young man by the name Timothy. He had mixed heritage with his father being Greek while his mother was a Jew. Such a person would have been frowned upon in Jewish culture but Paul who had seen God working in the lives of Gentiles saw something in Timothy that would resonate with both Jews and Greeks. A man who could reach out to Gentiles easily and still be at home with the Jews. It states that he even had him circumcised for him to gain more acceptance among orthodox Jews. Lystra was the place where Paul had nearly been lynched by a mob. So brutal was his stoning that he was dragged out of town and left for the dead. It took his disciples to help him out after this ordeal. Yet Lystra was the home of Timothy, a young man who would be mentored by Paul in the way of ministry. He woul become one of the church leaders of his age at a very tender age. The most painful experiences are not wasted by God. He uses them to teach us some valuable lessons and here is one packaged in the life of the man Timothy. Paul would treat Timothy as his own son because he initiated him into circumcision (fathers took centre stage in their sons’ circumcision). But beyond that, he helped usher Timothy into the faith through his mission campaigns with Lystra being the bloodiest yet. So we see Paul holding the hand of Timothy and traveling with him from church to church while delivering the message from the apostles. We see them witnessing a growth in the church numbers as they did so.