Take Hold!

Take Hold!

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. 1 Timothy 6:12 NIV

Context:

Paul writes to Timothy, a young man he found and mentored, laying his hands on him. There were gifts from God imparted to this young man, and Paul counseled him to work on those gifts, so that he could be a man approved of God. Bible accounts indicate that Timothy went on to become a tool in the hands of God. We read of his work in Ephesus, and we also read of Paul's charge to him with respect to Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom Paul handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. 

The work of God calls for devotion and focus, and a dedication to truth. There is no room for the support of heresy or falsehood, which must be resisted at all costs. Am I focused on that which promotes God's truth, or am I promoting falsehood and lies? Today's extract contains warnings and admonitions which all who will end well will do well to heed. 

Message and Response:

From Paul's experience in the church of Ephesus, it is clear that the walk with and work for God entails some battles. Paul spent three years in Ephesus, striving to lay down the authority of the Word of God in that church, leaving Timothy there when he left. Truth always has opponents, and sometimes the opponents will rise up from the body of believers. However, I must keep at the back of my mind, as well as the focus of my eyes the reason why I am where I am, and where I am headed also. It is a fight, not a party. A table is prepared for me, in the presence of my enemies. God would not use such 'negative' words if they were not true.

We are not called to a life of earthly comfort, but to the comfort the Holy Spirit can give in the face of the most distressing circumstances. This faith is a fight. Jesus died a painful death to secure it, and I cannot treat it as something minor. I am called to a fight, not a party. In a fight, there are weapons, opponents, the warfront and the prize for victory. The one thing that is assured is the fact that if I am on the Lord's side, victory is sure, oh, but I will fight. 

I am also called to take hold of the eternal life to which I have been called. That involves action on my part. It is not a passive life, one where I wait for whatever is coming my way. I go on to take hold of that which Jesus settled on the cross when he died and then rose again. What he settled for me is eternal life, pure and simple. By his life, I have life. Let not the devil complicate matters; my confession of Jesus as my Lord and Saviour is all I need to lay hold of that life. I cannot pay for it; in fact, I could not pay for it. Jesus did, and he calls me to a new way of doing things. I cannot use the old way of doing things to achieve the things that new life in Jesus demands of me. 

Can I say that I am born again? Not the mockery of the experience that the world today promotes, but the genuine work of God on the heart of man. That work that is first internal, before the effects are seen on the external. A lot of the walk of faith is not tangible, because faith is a critical part of it, but I can say with every bit of certainty that the final benefits are tangible. I ask myself again: am I born again? Do I know what I have been called out of and into? Am I bearing the whole armour of God, conscious of the fact that I have been called to take a stand for Jesus? Have I sealed eternal life for myself? Questions, with answers that have eternal consequences. How do you answer? His time of favour is here.