These verses often serve as reminders and encouragement to us...but we also sometimes tend to focus on the "youth" part of this passage, and neglect the rest of it.
First, a little background..The books of Timothy were not written by him, but rather to him. The Apostle Paul led Timothy to Christ, and Timothy had accompanied Paul for 15-20 years, traveling, ministering, being discipled, being imprisoned, etc., all in service to God. At the time of the above verses, though, Timothy was pastor of a church, and Paul was telling him to not let the people of the church look down on him because he was in his 30's - which was YOUNG in Greek culture. He was telling Timothy to be an example (to his elders, mind you!) in WORD - the manner in which he spoke to people; in CONDUCT - his righteous lifestyle; in LOVE - his selfless service to others; in SPIRIT - his demeanor; in FAITH - faithfulness to God; and in PURITY - most especially sexual purity.
In verse 13, Paul is challenging Timothy to be diligent in his practice of reading the Word. He is also saying to him that he must challenge others (exhortation) who hear God's word to apply it in their daily lives.
So what's in it for us?
We don't want others to look down on us, do we? Of course not. But sometimes I think that this "don't judge me" attitude is simply the feeling we all have at one time or another - you know...that feeling that says "I got this"! It's hard for us to admit that we are young, because we are always wanting so much to be older. I can remember as a child having to throw in that "and a half" to whatever my age was at the time. 5 and a half, 8 and a half 10 and a half... Then when you're in junior high school, you can't wait to get to high school. Then you can't wait to get out. Then you want to be 21. Then what? Too often, we rush through our lives (we all do), without taking the time to put into practice all the things that we've learned along the way....we are in too much of a hurry to get somewhere, and most of us have no idea exactly where that is.
Take the time to examine - really, deep down, examine - the things listed above...WORD, CONDUCT, LOVE, SPIRIT, FAITH, PURITY. What example are you being in these areas? Write them down if you need to. Talk to God about it. Are you selflessly serving others? Are you speaking to others in a manner that is glorifying God? What about your conduct? Your faith? Are you keeping your body (all of it!!!) pure? We will all fall short on these...and it's not to late to start, or to start over.
Think about it, pray about it, and put it into practice!
