“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin
Rioting… uproar… commotion… once again, a mob ran Paul out of town. After two years in Ephesus, he said a powerful good-bye to the church elders. What would you say to someone if you knew it was the last time you’d see them? Paul didn’t waste a syllable! (We imagine tears too).
Why’d he leave? He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem because the Spirit told him to go – and even though the Spirit also kept warning him of jail and other trouble once he got there. (Spoiler alert: the Spirit was right! Stay tuned for “Trials of Hope” and “Shipwreck”)
But Ephesus had Problems – enough to make him send Timothy there with power, influence, and instructions: two letters we now know as 1st & 2nd Timothy. Paul hit the hard subjects: slavery, welfare, and women in the church. But he also encouraged them, called his friends by name, and urged Timothy to fight for truth in the Ephesian church… a call we must still answer today!