1 TIMOTHY 6:11-16 DON’T PUSH YOUR LUCK
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
How often do we take our sinful tendencies seriously enough to flee from them, let alone seeing our goal of a Christ-like life as important enough to actively pursue? Our human inclination is more akin to that of the classic 2 year old. In one of his teachings, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family described the testing nature of the “terrible twos” by the illustration of a parent drawing a line in the sand and telling the child not to step over it. As soon as that line is drawn the little one sidles up to the line and while looking at the parent slides her big toe over the line to see what will really happen. We usually refer to such behavior as testing the limits and that is our default mode of operation. Rather than fleeing from evil and temptation we tend to be moral “thrill seekers.”
In contrast, we are to take hold of the eternal life by fleeing from unrighteousness and pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. The recipe for the obedient life is turning away from the ways of the world, seeking out the ways of God and then hanging onto the kingdom. Although our salvation (eternal life) has been assured by our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of our earthly purpose to make God and his way known to the world is accomplished through our perseverance in living a life of obedience.
Do not hold lightly onto the eternal life that has been provided for you at such great cost. Grasp it with all your strength and then some. Protect it from being sullied by disobedience. Nurture it in your heart so that it will blossom into kingdom attitudes that will be a testimony to the grace and truth of God.
Father, send your Holy Spirit to help me avoid the near occasion of evil and to strengthen me in pursuit of his fruits. May I be sold out to your kingdom and a faithful witness to the truth of your word. Amen.