September 18, 2026

Today's Reading: 1 Timothy 1:1-20

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10; Haggai 1:1-2:23; 1 Timothy 1:1-20

“To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” (1 Timothy 1:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Timothy’s biological father was a pagan who apparently cared nothing for his son’s spiritual life. Timothy was nonetheless blessed to have many parents in the faith. His mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, nurtured him in the faith and taught him the love of Jesus. Paul pointed them out as examples of spiritual parents in his second letter to Timothy. Here, in his first letter, however, Paul does not give explicit examples; yet, nonetheless, his language is a subtle reminder that Timothy is part of a great family—God’s family.

This was a great comfort to Timothy. When he received each of those letters from Paul, Timothy was a young pastor going through a rough time. He felt lonely in his duties. He was separated from those who once cared for him—at least emotionally, and possibly geographically, too. Timothy served in Ephesus. That is at least a week-long walk from his hometown in Lystra, where Paul met him in Acts 16. For all we know, Eunice and Lois were asleep in Christ by this point in history. Paul himself was in and out of prison and often facing trial. It would have been easy for Timothy to feel disheartened and lonely.

But being part of God’s family means we are never alone. We have an omnipresent God who desires to be called “Father.” He wants to hear your worries and cares—not because of any special merit or worthiness in you, but simply out of a fatherly, divine goodness and mercy. So Paul shared God’s “grace, mercy, and peace” as a true spiritual father does to a true spiritual son. We enjoy these same Gifts today.

Your heavenly Father has granted you siblings more numerous than the stars in the sky! They gather together weekly to receive His greatest gifts: freely-given grace, entirely undeserved mercy, and an everlasting peace that the world could never shake or destroy. God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus, raises you into His family.

You now have the joy to raise up your fellow family members to know that same “grace, mercy, and peace.” No matter what sort of biological family we may or may not have, we always get to share the love of God with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We get to smile at the screeching baby in the pew ahead, offer a hand to the parent struggling to juggle diapers, bottles, and blankets. We get to volunteer to help with Sunday School or bring a dish to the potluck. Even simple things like singing in worship help our brothers and sisters know that they are not alone! So, too, is the way we refer to one another: as “brother” and “sister.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, teach me to treasure the true family You have given me in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Donald Stein, pastor of Saint Andrew Lutheran Church in Rockton, IL.