Pursuing the Best in What We Do
In Paul’s letter of advice to his young protégé Timothy, he acknowledges the value of physical training. Even better is training to live a godly life.
Physical training has some value, but godliness has even more, both in this life and the life to come, in the physical world and also in the spiritual world.
He contrasts physical training, which is good, to spiritual training, which is better. How often do we pursue things that are good, while pushing aside things that are better, God’s things? The best things.
Even when it comes to our faith, there are good things we can to with our time, money, and attention and there are better things we can do. May we live wisely and always focus on the best.
In other letters Paul uses the metaphor of a runner to teach about life. As people who follow Jesus we should train for our race and run our race with the purpose. We want to finish, win, and earn a prize for how well we run.
We don’t want to be disqualified; we don’t want to quit before we reach the finish line. Coasting through the race—or through life—isn’t an option.
We must press forward with the end in mind. To do these things, we train with purpose. Our eternal future is at stake. We run to win.
[1 Timothy 4:7-8, 1 Corinthians 9:24, Galatians 2:2, Galatians 5:7, Hebrews 12:1]
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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